MIAMI (AP) – In past years, a team like the Toronto Raptors almost certainly would have been looking to add some help for the stretch run. They’re holding down second place in the Eastern Conference, have been one of the league’s hottest teams for the last month and seem poised to make a significant playoff push.
Yet on this trade-deadline day, they did nothing.
They weren’t alone. For the most part, Thursday’s deadline came and went with most NBA teams seeming cautious, with the huge rise in the salary cap for next season – and the uncertainty of how the free-agent market will react to that over the summer – deterring clubs from making moves that might adversely affect their flexibility going forward.
“Yes, we are in a different situation from last year,” Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri said.
He was talking about his team. He may as well have been talking about the league, where there’s a clear wait-and-see approach about how the massive cap jumps that are coming will inevitably change the way teams go about their business. This season’s cap was a record $70 million. That seems like pocket change when compared to how next season will likely top $90 million, and a cap of $110 million or more for 2017-18 is possible.