Updated Pacers salary cap situation

The Pacers salary cap situation looks very different than it did at the beginning of free agency. Here’s an updated look.

It’s been too long since we last provided a look at the Pacers salary cap situation. A lot has changed since then, so it’s time for an update.

The biggest change was of course the Paul George trade that rocked the NBA mere hours before the official beginning of free agency. George’s $19.3 million came off the books and Victor Oladipo‘s $21 million came on, along with another $2.55 million for Domantas Sabonis.

More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds

• 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
• Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
• 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
• 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
• Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?

The Pacers have about $2.3 million in dead cap space thanks to the waiving of both Monta Ellis and Rakeem Christmas. However, CJ Miles‘ $8.7 million cap hold is finally off the books after the sign-and-trade that sent him to the Toronto Raptors in return for Cory Joseph.

After adding up all the guaranteed salary as well as non-guaranteed figures for Seraphin, Robinson, Young and Niang, the Pacers have roughly $91 million in salary committed to 14 players.

With the salary cap set at $99 million, that gives Indiana about $5.4 million in space left to spend. They also have a $4.3 million room exception, but they can’t combine those two figures to sign a better player, and they already have 14 players on the roster. Unless they decided to cut a non-guaranteed guy, it’s unlikely that Kevin Pritchard will use both.

There aren’t very many quality players left in the free agent pool after 10 days of action, but since the Pacers only have five and a half million to spend, that might not be such a bad thing. If Pritchard is looking to add one more piece, he’d be choosing from the likes of Arron Afflalo, Tony Allen, Luke Babbit, Willie Reed or perhaps a stealth tank option like Derrick Rose or Rajon Rondo.

The Pacers won’t have enough money to lure away any worthwhile restricted free agents, but I wouldn’t mind throwing two years and nine or 10 million at Babbit or Reed. Both played well on an overachieving Heat team last season, and Babbit shot 41.4 percent from 3-point range last season.

Next: Pacers Summer League wrap-up

There are definitely worse ways to use cap space, just ask the Knicks.