Every action or non-action in the NBA carries inherent risks as teams prepare for the upcoming season. Typically, teams construct their rosters during the summer months through a combination of the draft, free agency, and trades. While significant trades, such as a potential blockbuster involving Luka Dončić, could shift trajectories during the season, most foundational changes are expected to occur over the summer. Given the complexities of the NBA's salary cap system, including luxury taxes and aprons, it becomes nearly impossible to dissociate basketball decisions from financial implications. Consequently, each team faces numerous choices that will shape both their immediate and future roster compositions. This article outlines the most challenging financial decisions every NBA team must address ahead of the 2025-26 regular season.

In July, the NBA is set to implement new national television deals, which will result in a projected salary cap increase to $154.6 million—the maximum allowable 10 percent rise year over year. The accompanying numbers for each team referenced in this article are based on this cap estimate. The NBA operates under a soft salary cap, with most teams typically exceeding it by the end of the season. However, some teams may opt to remain below the luxury tax threshold of $187.9 million, as those teams stand to receive a portion of the tax penalties assessed on those above the threshold—estimated at about $11.6 million this year. Others may choose to stop short of crossing the first or second apron, set at $195.9 million and $207.8 million, respectively, due to the accompanying restrictions for exceeding these limits. Generally, only top contenders, such as the Phoenix Suns, traverse into the territory of the second apron.

Teams operating under the salary cap have substantial flexibility for trades and signings, but crossing the first apron confers limited options related to mid-level exceptions available, including the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (NTMLE) at $14.1 million for teams that exceed the cap, and the bi-annual exception (BAE) at $5.1 million, usable only every other year. Teams below the first apron are afforded the taxpayer mid-level exception (TMLE) at $5.7 million, while teams exceeding the second apron cannot utilize these exceptions and must confine themselves to signing players only to minimum contracts. Trade exceptions (TPE) originating from the 2024-25 regular season will also play a role; utilizing a pre-existing TPE may invoke a first-apron hard cap. The subsequent projections do not factor in potential trades or player waivers that may affect salary allocations over multiple seasons.