Mehhh
1. Every “contender” isn’t 17 million over the tax threshold
2. Most buyout players don’t impact teams winning a tittle anyways
The most relevant thing here tho is sending out picks 7 years away ..that’s like the “lakers” rule as teams over leveraged cap wise and draft asset wise can’t just shoot out a future 2030 pick to Danny Ainge anymore to get more help

This should be a good thing ultimately tho for those who worry about “competitive balance” because for so long it was “hey just get the biggest stars and the rest will come to ring chase” now it’s a different calculation front offices will have to make because building around the highest priced free agents won’t be as easy …you really need to draft and develop young talent …I presume the brick price on those second round picks is going to go up for that very reason …getting it right with those players suddenly becomes immensely more valued