The Cavaliers used the stretch provision to unfold Ricky Rubio‘s $1,274,015 dead-money cap hit for 2024/25 throughout three seasons, in accordance with ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter hyperlink). Rubio will now rely towards Cleveland’s books for $424,672 yearly via ’26/27.
Rubio was purchased out by the Cavaliers final January with two years left on his contract, asserting at the moment that his NBA profession was over. He gave up $5.4MM in that settlement, leaving Cleveland with cap prices of $3,722,327 for 2023/24 and $1,274,015 for ’24/25.
The Cavaliers didn’t use the stretch provision on Rubio’s post-termination wage on the time of his launch, however as Marks explains, the present Collective Bargaining Settlement allowed them to stretch the second-year wage throughout three seasons so long as they did so previous to the Saturday (August 31) deadline. Underneath the earlier CBA, utilizing the stretch provision was solely permitted on the time of the waiver request.
The transfer generates an additional $849,343 in cap flexibility for Cleveland this season. That will not look like a lot, nevertheless it offers the membership just a little further respiratory room under the posh tax line because the entrance workplace negotiates a take care of Isaac Okoro. If the purpose is to re-sign Okoro to a multiyear contract, signal a 14th man to a minimum-salary deal, and stay out of tax territory, that further $849K might turn out to be useful.
The Cavaliers are actually roughly $10.6MM under the posh tax line, that means they may provide Okoro a first-year wage of roughly $8.5MM and keep away from turning into a taxpayer. That will enable them to go as much as about $27.5MM for 3 years or $38.1MM over 4 years for the final unsigned restricted free agent available on the market.
Even when they find yourself going barely into tax territory to fill out the opening night time roster, lowering Rubio’s 2024/25 cap hit will make it simpler for the Cavs to duck the tax with a commerce later within the season.
