How every team gets to their maximum cap space

New Orleans Pelicans

Guaranteed Salaries: $65,104,198

Draft Pick Cap Holds: $2,931,000

Maximum Cap Space: $23,790,918

The Pelicans can’t quite open up a mid-tier maximum contract slot that would be needed to add a veteran wing like Nicolas Batum or Kevin Durant, but they could insert themselves into the Harrison Barnes conversation if they so choose. Here’s how they get to almost $23.8 million in space this summer:

-Waive the non-guaranteed contracts of Toney Douglas and Luke Babbitt. Both Douglas and Babbitt become fully guaranteed for 2016-17 on July 12th for a total of about $2.54 million, though Babbitt will be owed $200,000 if the Pelicans choose to waive him before the July 12th deadline.

-Renounce their Bird rights on Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson, and Norris Cole. Gordon and Anderson’s cap holds alone account for more than $36 million on the Pelicans’ books.

-Renounce their non-Bird rights on Kendrick Perkins, James Ennis, restricted free agent Tim Frazier, and Alonzo Gee, who opted out of his contract this week.

Ryan Anderson remains the Pelicans’ most important decision this summer. Anderson has a defined skillset that is incredibly useful in today’s NBA; he can stretch out to the three-point line and can even score well in isolation possessions in the post, but his defensive limitations and the fact that he could command a full $26.56 million max contract may turn the Pelicans off from bringing him back to New Orleans. Anderson’s Bird rights means that the Pelicans could re-sign him after completely some other signings, but having him for the next five years on a full max contract may hamper them down the line.

Next: New York Knicks