The financial impact stemming from Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s October tweet supporting protesters in Hong Kong is expected to result in less growth in the NBA’s salary cap and luxury tax projections for next season.
The cap still could rise as much as 3.5 percent over this season’s $109.1 million figure, according to an ESPN report, but that number is substantially lower than the 6.3 percent increase that had been projected in September.
The report added that the league has alerted teams it soon will release adjusted projections for 2020-21 so teams can make “more informed financial and roster decisions ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline.”
The NBA lost between $150 million and $200 million in revenue, sources told ESPN, since China yanked sponsorships and TV coverage after Morey tweeted support of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong along with an image captioned “”Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong.”
