Report: Daryl Morey's Hong Kong tweet could impact NBA salary cap

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey may have sent the most expensive tweet of all-time when he tweeted his support for anti-government protestors in Hong Kong earlier this season, and the fallout from the tweet could reportedly have an impact on NBA free agency.

China made the decision to pull sponsorships and TV coverage in the wake of Morey’s tweet. That is believed to have cost the league anywhere between $150 million and $200 million, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

That number is going to have a considerable impact on the league down the line. The 2020-2021 salary cap could drop from a projected $116 million to $113 million, per the report.

Update: The league’s salary cap projection for next season officially came in at $115 million instead of $116 million — a slight drop, but better than expected.

It’s still about a $6 million bump to this season’s number at $109.1 million. The official number won’t be finalized until the numbers are officially calculated in June.

This year it won’t change things much, but next summer it might

In the grand scheme, it might not feel like $3 million means a lot — especially when we consider how much money has been thrown around by teams year after year.

For this season it particular, it doesn’t mean much of anything. The NBA already has its salary cap numbers down for this season and we’re halfway through the year.

However, we might see teams trying to prepare themselves for the summer of 2020 and 2021. This news has big implications there — not just for teams trying to snag free agents but also for teams trying to retain their own.

The luxury tax number was projected to be at $141 million but could drop. There were already just a handful of teams with cap space next season and that dwindles down even more if projections hold true.

The Warriors, in particular, could be burned by the new number. As a repeater tax team, meaning they’ve spent multiple years in the NBA’s luxury tax threshold, they would have to pay about $80 million in penalties if the tax drops to $138 million instead of $65 million if the tax stays at $141 million.