The Nets Will Pay An Insane Amount Of Money For A Mediocre Team
That is $36.7 million over the projected salary cap of $58.5 million. But more importantly, it is $23.6 million over the NBA's projected luxury tax threshold of $71.6 million.
And thanks to a new sliding scale* introduced in the most recent collective bargaining agreement, the Nets will have to pay close to $60 million in luxury tax
For just the 11 players currently on the roster, the Nets will have to pay approximately $153.8 million for a team that might only be the fourth best in the Eastern Conference.
For comparison, the 2012-13 Miami Heat had a payroll of $83.4 million and paid approximately $13.1 million in luxury tax for a total of $96.5 million.
The new luxury tax system was supposed to discourage this type of spending. Apparently the NBA didn't account for the deep pockets of Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov.
* Teams will pay $1.50 for every dollar for the first $5 million over the luxury tax. That jumps to $1.75 for every dollar for the next $5 million, $2.50 for every dollar for the third $5 million, $3.25 for every dollar for the next $5 million. After that, the tax per dollar increases by $0.50 for each additional $5 million above the threshold.