That just leaves the 76ers and maybe the Lakers (if they first land a star) as the two potential playoff teams with enough cap space to make either a sizable offer.
Even if some try to upgrade their roster, they won’t likely be interested in aging role players. Bad teams do have some cap space but they will likely rent it out for assets. Some have the mid-level exception at their disposal, which is less than Danny would make if he opts in and essentially the same Rudy would make.
Which means that this is a bad offseason in which to be a free agent. That means fewer teams have cap space this summer and a lot of front offices will be looking to shed salary to avoid the luxury tax instead of add to their payroll. The result was an abundance of bad, long-term deals that are still on the books. The league is feeling the effects of the great spending spree of 2016, when a huge cap spike brought along by a new television deal that year left teams with money to spend and no idea of what a good contract looked like in such a new economic climate. Most years, both Green and Gay would be locks to opt out, but 2018 is not like most years.
But just in case they follow other guy’s leads and make up their mind earlier, let’s take a look at the factors that might make them think twice before opting out and what the Spurs’ chances of retaining them are if they do. We might not have news on this front for a while, as Green has until June 27th to decide and Gay until June 29th. The trade-off, however, is that having both back in the fold will mean carrying a very similar roster into next year, since it would be extremely hard for the front office to carve out cap room to target high profile free agents if both return. If they opt in, the Spurs will get to keep a couple of important role players at a good value. While Joffrey’s decision won’t have a big impact on San Antonio’s offseason plans, whether Green and Gay stay under contract matters. The Spurs have three players in control of their own contract status: Danny Green, Rudy Gay and Joffrey Lauvergne. As the playoffs continue, players on teams that have already been eliminated have started to opt in and out of their contract options. It feels too early to be in offseason mode, but the NBA waits for no one.