Very few teams project to have significant cap room next offseason. Outside of the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, few will have the spending power to issue significant contracts to free agents (or offer sheets to restricted players).

Generally speaking, teams have leverage throughout this negotiating period. Even so, some will pay the most they possibly can to the players they believe in, like the Detroit Pistons issuing Cade Cunningham a max extension. The Boston Celtics took care of Jayson Tatum. The market does not always drive the price.

But for players who have been extension-eligible since early July and whose prospective deals are still pending, negotiations are likely nuanced, complex and influenced by who might be offering more in July (an issue when the majority of teams won’t have more than the projected non-taxpayer mid-level exception [NTMLE] of $14.1 million).