The Tribune

SINCE we last spoke star free agent Kevin Durant jilted my Los Angeles Lakers.

Nope, there is zero chance I delve into why that upsets me. Instead, this edition of the Fourth Quarter Press will attempt to gauge the overall free agency market.

Midnight tonight marks the official start of the 2016 free agency period. The NBA, as a result of its massive new $24bn television deal, has already announced a $24m rise in the 2016-2017 salary cap.

We can agree that the NBA dollar can no longer get you what it once could. For ‘Naismith’s sake’, Harrison Barnes and DeMar Derozan are demanding max contracts.

To put these concepts into perspective, a max contract during the 2015-2016 campaign fetched roughly $24m. That number has now swelled to $34m.

This substantial jump doesn’t only mean a bizarre cash grab by this year’s crop of free agents, but it signals that possibly every NBA team now has the ability to sign a top-tier star.

The teams and the room they have in their salary cap are:

LA Lakers - $62,613,020

Philadelphia -

$61,220,813

Boston - $53,397,958

Dallas - $48,081,683

Washington - $45,293,711

Portland - $41,813,658

Houston - $41,227,809

Charlotte - $39,830,474

Brooklyn - $38,636,058

Memphis - $38,082,020

Detroit - $38,005,231

Miami - $36,643,557

Atlanta - $34,652,234

Toronto - $32,385,182

Utah - $31,895,769

Denver - $31,776,000

New York - $30,372,607

Indiana - $30,139,491

Minnesota - $28,191,887

Phoenix - $26,856,859

Orlando - $26,834,775

Sacramento - $25,519,110

Milwaukee - $25,248,940

New Orleans -

$22,431,197

Oklahoma - $22,006,756

Chicago - $16,343,300

San Antonio - $15,309,766

Golden State -

$10,987,516

Cleveland - $8,503,742

LA Clippers - $8,035,850

Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers have now gone from certain ‘luxury tax purgatory’ to active players in free agency.

For the Clippers, one or two minor moves can push that cap number to more than $20m, opening up a shot at this year’s top catch - Kevin Durant.

The increase in teams with money can either result in the driving up in the cost of sub-par players as lower-end teams chase a chance to get better; my Lakers throwing max deals at a Harrison Barnes or DeMar Derozan.

Derozan turned down a $10m player option for 2016–17. He is now in a position for at least a $20m rise in his base salary despite a shaky post-season.

Or below market deals for stars and quality role players seeing this summer as a prime opportunity to jump on an already stacked championship squad.

Again, the likes of Kevin Durant to Golden State, San Antonio, LA Clippers and so on. The intrigue this year is certainly in the numbers and not the names.

10 TOP STARS AND WHERE THEY MAY LAND

LeBron James (age 31) - resigns with Cavaliers

Kevin Durant (27) - signs with Spurs

DeMar DeRozan (26) - re-signs with Raptors

Hassan Whiteside (26) - signs with Lakers

Dwyane Wade (34) - re-signs with Heat

Bradley Beal (23) - re-signs with Wizards

Al Horford (30) - signs with Celtics

Mike Conley (28) - signs with Mavericks

Nicolas Batum (27) - signs with Lakers

Andre Drummond (2) - signs with Atlanta