Charlotte Hornets
2026-27 Cap Sheet • Eastern • Southeast
Over Cap, Below First Apron
First Apron
Thresholds
The first tax apron ($195,945,000 in 2025-26) restricts teams from using the non-taxpayer MLE, bi-annual exception, sign-and-trades to acquire players, and prior-year TPEs. Teams above the first apron can only take back 100% of outgoing salary in trades.
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Over Cap, Below First Apron
First Apron
Thresholds
The first tax apron ($195,945,000 in 2025-26) restricts teams from using the non-taxpayer MLE, bi-annual exception, sign-and-trades to acquire players, and prior-year TPEs. Teams above the first apron can only take back 100% of outgoing salary in trades.
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Magic Miracle
Viewing a shared scenario. Clone it to make your own edits.
Scenario Trades (1)
↙
Trade with CHA
mirrored
Valid
Sent: Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, Sion James
Received: Desmond Bane, Izaiyah Nelson
Picks out: 2029 Rnd 1
Team Salary
$187.7M
113.8% of cap
+ $4.9M cap holds
Cap Hold
Fundamentals
A placeholder amount charged against a team's cap for free agents whose rights they hold. Cap holds count toward team salary even though no contract exists. Teams must renounce a player's rights to remove the cap hold, but doing so means losing the ability to re-sign that player using Bird rights.
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$192.6M
Salary Cap
Salary Cap
Fundamentals
The maximum amount a team can spend on player salaries, set annually by the NBA based on Basketball Related Income (BRI). For 2025-26, the salary cap is $154,647,000. Unlike the NFL, the NBA's cap is a "soft cap" — teams can exceed it using various exceptions.
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$165.0M
Cap Space
Cap Space / Cap Room
Fundamentals
The difference between a team's current salary and the salary cap. Teams with cap space can sign free agents or absorb salary in trades without sending matching salary out.
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-$22.7M
w/ holds:
-$27.6M
Tax Line
Luxury Tax Line
Thresholds
The salary threshold above which teams must pay the luxury tax. Set at $187,895,000 for 2025-26. Separate from the salary cap — a team can be over the cap without paying tax.
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$201.0M
Tax Bill
Luxury Tax
Fundamentals
A dollar-for-dollar (or more) penalty paid by teams whose total salary exceeds the luxury tax line. For 2025-26, the tax line is $187,895,000. Tax rates increase with each bracket and are higher for repeat offenders.
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$0
Roster
Roster Limits
Roster
NBA teams can carry up to 15 players on standard contracts plus up to 3 two-way contracts (18 total). The minimum is 14 on opening day and 13 during the season. If a team has fewer than 12 players, an incomplete roster charge is assessed for each missing spot.
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15/15
+4/3
Cap Position
Cap
Tax
1st
2nd
Cap
Salary Cap
Fundamentals
The maximum amount a team can spend on player salaries, set annually by the NBA based on Basketball Related Income (BRI). For 2025-26, the salary cap is $154,647,000. Unlike the NFL, the NBA's cap is a "soft cap" — teams can exceed it using various exceptions.
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$165.0M
Tax
Luxury Tax Line
Thresholds
The salary threshold above which teams must pay the luxury tax. Set at $187,895,000 for 2025-26. Separate from the salary cap — a team can be over the cap without paying tax.
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$201.0M
1st Apron
First Apron
Thresholds
The first tax apron ($195,945,000 in 2025-26) restricts teams from using the non-taxpayer MLE, bi-annual exception, sign-and-trades to acquire players, and prior-year TPEs. Teams above the first apron can only take back 100% of outgoing salary in trades.
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$209.0M
2nd Apron
Second Apron
Thresholds
The second tax apron ($207,824,000 in 2025-26) imposes the strictest restrictions. Teams above it cannot: aggregate salaries in trades, send cash in trades, use any MLE, send players via sign-and-trade, or trade first-round picks 7 years out. Their distant first-round picks are also "frozen."
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$222.0M
Team $187.7M
w/ Holds
Cap Hold
Fundamentals
A placeholder amount charged against a team's cap for free agents whose rights they hold. Cap holds count toward team salary even though no contract exists. Teams must renounce a player's rights to remove the cap hold, but doing so means losing the ability to re-sign that player using Bird rights.
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$192.6M
Cap Hold
Fundamentals
A placeholder amount charged against a team's cap for free agents whose rights they hold. Cap holds count toward team salary even though no contract exists. Teams must renounce a player's rights to remove the cap hold, but doing so means losing the ability to re-sign that player using Bird rights.
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Season
Swipe salaries to change year. Contract totals include remaining option years, not cap holds.
| # | Player | Pos | Age | 26-27 | 27-28 | 28-29 | 29-30 | 30-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Desmond Bane
via ORL
|
SG | 28 | $39.4M | $42.2M | $44.9M | $41.3M | — |
| 2 |
Coby White
|
PG | 26 | $26.8M | $24.7M | $22.5M | $33.8M | — |
| 3 |
Naz Reid
|
C | 27 | $23.3M | $25.0M | $26.7M | $28.4M PO | $41.3M |
| 4 |
Brandon Miller
|
SF | 23 | $15.1M | $37.8M | — | — | — |
| 5 |
Dennis Schröder
|
PG | 33 | $14.8M | $15.5M PO NG | $20.2M | — | — |
| 6 |
Grant Williams
|
PF | 27 | $14.3M | $27.1M | — | — | — |
| 7 |
Dorian Finney-Smith
|
SF | 33 | $14.2M | $13.3M | $13.3M PO | $25.3M | — |
| 8 |
Kon Knueppel
|
SG | 21 | $10.5M | $11.0M TO | $13.9M TO | $41.3M | — |
| 9 |
Tidjane Salaun
|
PF | 31 | $8.2M | $10.4M TO | $31.3M | — | — |
| 10 |
Hannes Steinbach
|
C | 20 | $5.2M | $5.5M | $5.8M TO | $8.5M TO | $25.5M |
| 11 |
Christian Anderson Jr.
|
PG | 20 | $4.3M | $4.5M | $4.7M TO | $7.2M TO | $21.6M |
| 12 |
Pat Connaughton
|
SG | 33 | $3.8M NG | $2.5M | — | — | — |
| 13 |
Liam McNeeley
|
SF | 20 | $2.9M | $3.0M TO | $5.5M TO | $16.5M | — |
| 14 |
Moussa Diabate
|
C | 24 | $2.5M | $2.5M | — | — | — |
| 15 |
Antonio Reeves
|
SG | 25 | $2.5M | — | — | — | — |
| 16 |
Xavier Tillman
|
C | 27 | $2.5M | — | — | — | — |
| 17 |
Ryan Kalkbrenner
|
C | 24 | $2.4M | $2.5M | $2.7M TO | $5.2M | — |
|
Two-Way Contracts
(4 of 3 slots • not counted against the cap or the 15-man roster)
|
||||||||
| — |
Michael Ajayi
Two-Way
|
SG | 23 | $678K | — | — | — | — |
| — |
Kylan Boswell
Two-Way
|
PG | 21 | $678K | — | — | — | — |
| — |
PJ Hall
Two-Way
|
C | 24 | $678K | — | — | — | — |
| — |
Izaiyah Nelson
Two-Way
|
C | — | $678K | $716K | — | — | — |
| Total | $187.7M ($192.6M) | $157.7M ($227.4M) | $140.1M ($191.6M) | $44.2M ($207.4M) | $0 ($88.4M) | |||
| Cap Space | -$27.6M | -$45.9M | $8.1M | $12.2M | $153.2M | |||
| 1st Apron Space | $21.3M | $72.2M | $112.8M | $234.0M | $306.0M | |||
| 2nd Apron Space | $34.3M | $86.5M | $128.6M | $251.3M | $325.0M | |||
Legend:
Regular = under contract • Orange
=
Cap Hold
Fundamentals
A placeholder amount charged against a team's cap for free agents whose rights they hold. Cap holds count toward team salary even though no contract exists. Teams must renounce a player's rights to remove the cap hold, but doing so means losing the ability to re-sign that player using Bird rights.
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• Blue
= projected/edited • Struck
= option declined • PO
Player Opt • TO
Team Opt • ETO
Early Term • NG
= non-guaranteed •
Cap projections assume ~10% annual growth