Talking about the NBA as a business isn’t an ideal way for diehard supporters to wrestle with their fandom. But understanding how decisions are made on the technical side helps contextualize the choices organizations make about their franchise’s favorite players. Money matters, revenue allows the owner to pay his players and expensive rosters can have severe consequences. The intricacies of the cap make cutting salary more complicated than finding a team willing to take on extra money, so both the short- and long-term ramifications of any deal are taken into consideration.

The luxury-tax threshold is the biggest threat hanging over these franchises. Every dollar spent once they cross that baseline costs a little more. Teams and owners don’t always avoid the tax line altogether—sometimes it’s the best way to field a competitive team, or to keep one together. The cost of doing business and paying good players can mean dipping into those pockets.

But when the tax can be skirted (or minimized), doing so is common sense. This season, four teams are flirting with that luxury-tax line, set at $119,266,000. Whether they currently clock in over the threshold or below it, they must figure out if and how they should duck this penalty. And it just so happens that all four teams are expected to be in the thick of competitive playoff races, which further complicates matters.

Each will invariably look for ways to do the obvious—evade the luxury-tax penalty without compromising the on-court product. Here, we will take a dive into the unique situations these franchises face and, hopefully, illuminate a picture for what moves are possible, which are most plausible and how they might strike that delicate balance between winning and remaining cost effective. Each team was chosen because, for one reason or another, being above the tax line has intriguing short and long-term ramifications.

Note: Teams that are hard-capped (Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers) and far above the tax with incredibly slight likelihood of getting beneath (Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards) were not considered for this post.

Charlotte Hornets

• Under the Tax: ~$1.9 million
• Exceptions Remaining: Bi-Annual ($3.29 million), $4.89 million remaining of MLE
• Roster: 14 contracts, 2 two-way deals, 2 camp invites
• Kevin Pelton’s RPM Projection: 44.1 wins

The Charlotte Hornets will likely head into training camp as the highest-salaried team underneath the tax that is not hard-capped, meaning they can offer more than minimum contracts on the market and have limited trade flexibility. By already using $$3.5 million of their mid-level exception on Michael Carter-Williams and second-round pick Dwayne Bacon, the additional usage of approximately $1.69 million from that MLE would hard-cap them (that hard cap kicks in whenever a non-tax team uses the equivalent of the taxpayer MLE, which is $5.192 million).

Charlotte could sign one player for that amount and stay under the tax, but that isn’t functionally much more than the veteran’s minimum. With only 14 contracts coming into camp, it has some wiggle room to spend more money, increase its chances of winning and add a 15th player without going over that tax threshold. But there is a way to get two veteran-minimum deals despite only having space for one.

The biggest chip working in their favor: Treveon Graham, a Hornets wing on an unguaranteed $1.3 million contract. Should the Hornets want an addition beyond filling their 15th roster spot with a more credentialed vet, releasing Graham (which wouldn’t incur a cap hit) would leave them with enough money to offer another veteran’s minimum contract.

All this, of course, rests on the Hornets both viewing Graham as expendable and not getting any production out of their two-way contracts and camp invitees. Two-way players count against the cap after their 45th day on the pro club’s roster. Having even one of those pacts on the ledger would wipe out the ability to sign two guys on minimum deals.

Perhaps most importantly, the Hornets are already projected to be more than $10 million over the cap next season—and that number could balloon. Dipping into the tax through both seasons would eat into owner Michael Jordan’s wallet and is a steep price to pay for a team that, by all accounts, won’t be an immediate contender in the Eastern Conference. Many project a large jump in wins for the Hornets this year, including Kevin Pelton’s RPM ratings for ESPN.com, which push them up to a top-six seed. Is vaulting over the tax line worth picking up a few extra victories?

General manager and aspiring food critic Rich Cho might be best-served keeping his group comfortably below the luxury-tax threshold. Remember: Holstering that mid-level exception helps avoid the hard-cap, while saving the bi-annual exception for next year could help them during a season in which they project to need more cap relief. Long-term planning shouldn’t be sacrificed for the sake of adding one more piece to the roster—particularly this late into the free-agency game.

Waiting until January or February is easily Cho’s best course of action, given the need for financial flexibility. One injury could trigger a need for a trade, so that extra roster spot and Graham’s flexibility as a non-guaranteed contract might come in handy down the road. If Charlotte finds itself in the thick of a playoff race, expect to see it survey the buyout candidate list or look to add the best free agent available.

Milwaukee Bucks

• Over the Tax: ~$2.3 million
• Exceptions Remaining: Bi-Annual ($3.29 million), $7.59 million remaining of MLE
• Roster: 16 signed, 2 two-way deals
• Pelton’s RPM Projection: 46.9 wins

The Bucks have two paths to travel in regards to the tax. Both are largely dependent on Jabari Parker and how the team does while he recovers from his second ACL injury.

Parker, expected to miss at least half the season, is in the final year of his rookie-scale contract, meaning he’s currently extension-eligible or will be a restricted free agent next summer. Extending a player coming off his second major knee surgery in three years is questionable and puts the Bucks in unchartered waters, facing giant risks no matter what they do.

Before the injury, Parker emerged as an offensive force around whom they could build the franchise. Through 51 appearances during his sophomore campaign, he averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 49 percent from the field and making 1.3 treys per game. Leaving out the tricky nuances of projecting what any future pact might be worth, the Bucks have cleared enough room in upcoming seasons to offer a max extension without clearly vaulting themselves into the tax. Regardless, the question remains: Do they try dropping beneath the tax this year to help avoid a repeater penalty down the line, or risk it right now and try to cut financial corners next summer?

Decisions like this aren’t made in a vacuum. How the Bucks view their own standing in the Eastern Conference is a huge factor, and much of that hinges on the futures of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. If LeBron bolts, being poised to go over the luxury tax to field a team capable of winning the East would be a tremendous play for the franchise. They would then, in all likelihood, also have a full season of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Parker—their first with all three.

Milwaukee can get underneath that level by stretching Spencer Hawes’ contract and releasing Gary Payton II, who is on a partially guaranteed deal. The team has plenty of depth at both positions and can afford to make a cap-related move.

But there’s a case to be made for the Bucks staying above the cap now. They have a shade under $2.4 million left on that mid-level exception before they’d be hard-capped and can use that on a one-year contract that won’t impede their ability to stay under the tax next year. Perhaps getting one more forward who helps them ease the months without Parker is an investment they would undertake. Plenty of swing forwards remain available, including Dante Cunningham and Derrick Williams.

The best option for new general manager Jon Horst might even be to hold serve until February and gauge the temperature of his team and the market. If the Bucks struggle without Parker, they can look toward next season and duck the tax line on the trade market or, if worse comes to worst, by stretching Hawes. Conversely, if the team is in a good position by then, doubling down is still an option thanks to a meaty $5 million trade exception from the Roy Hibbert deal last year.

Bottom line: The Bucks are above the luxury tax right now, but they have a lot of options. Horst is young and has a huge decision to make with Parker at the start of his tenure. No matter what he decides, though, he has enough flexibility to make things work in both the short and long term without being forced into tinkering with Milwaukee’s core.

Portland Trail Blazers

• Over the Tax: ~$2.9 million
• Exceptions Remaining: Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception ($5.19 million)
• Roster: 14 signed, 1 two-way deal
• Pelton’s RPM Projection: 43.8 wins

Analyzing the Blazers’ unflattering cap situation has been done frequently over the past year. Their deal sending Allen Crabbe to the Brooklyn Nets earlier this summer was a solid start in general manager Neil Olshey’s mission to chip away at the financial restraints they face. But they aren’t out of the woods yet.

Assuming the team waives Andrew Nicholson and stretches out his remaining salary (which they’ve all but formally announced they will do), the Blazers will be only about $2.9 million over the tax line. The impetus behind wanting to dip fully beneath that threshold comes, in part, from the impending extension or restricted free-agent contract for Jusuf Nurkic. Although the 23-year-old center only played 20 games for the Blazers, he was an incredibly impactful piece around whom they have already begun to build their future.

Any new deal handed to the brutish Bosnian would almost certainly vault the Blazers above that luxury line next season and push them face-to-face with the dreaded repeater tax—that is, if they don’t dip beneath the $119.3 million touchstone this year. So while their mid-level exception exists in full, shedding salary is clearly their prime objective.

But what can the Blazers do to drop their cap number even further? Expiring contracts have less value in Portland than they may elsewhere if it’s a foregone conclusion the team will pay the tax next season. Shipping out Ed Davis’ $6.4 million salary is a solid option. Giving him away drags the Blazers beneath the tax without torpedoing their RPM ratings or debilitating their rotation. After all, Davis only logged 32 minutes after the team acquired Nurkic last year, and Portland has a superfluous number of players competing for frontcourt minutes.

And yet, there may be an even better alternative. If the Blazers could escape the luxury tax now, shed long-term salary and add a player at a position of need, that venture would be worth including a protected first-round pick. Jettisoning Crabbe didn’t cost them a selection, but that’s partially because he’s a valued young player. Packaging a less-sought-after player with a pick is probably the only way to get him out of the door.

Sussing out the right trade partner is paramount—one that can absorb some salary and has the right pieces to give back. The Dallas Mavericks immediately come to mind. They are still beneath the salary cap after Nerlens Noel accepted his qualifying offer and, by Mark Cuban’s own admission, are laboring through a rebuild. Would they eat three years of Meyers Leonard’s contract if it got them a first-round pick? Portland could dangle the two together in exchange for either Devin Harris (who can be cut by January 10th for a minimal cap hit) or J.J. Barea along with one of Dallas’ many roster fillers. Harris’ partial guarantee is part of his appeal to the Blazers: They can cut him and then use their mid-level exception to sign a player late in the year off the buyout market while remaining under the tax. But that’s contingent on getting rid of at least $9 million in the trade.

The Blazers should wait on any move like this if it means parting with a first-rounder. The last thing they want to do is give up a quality pick when they could simply dump Davis to get beneath the luxury tax this year. Only one thing necessitates a move elsewhere: believing they can compete for a top spot in the crowded West, where giving up a first-rounder is now worth adding another rotation piece. Olshey won’t be able to make that determination until January or February at the earliest.

As things currently stand for the Blazers, they project to be $6.9 million short of the luxury tax next season before re-signing Nurkic. Expecting them to avoid penalties in 2018-19, even if they manage to trade away some of their long-term deals this year, is a pipe dream. Olshey must work to get beneath the line this season. He has some tools to work with and can cut costs while keeping the Blazers in the West’s playoff race—and after the team’s spending spree in 2016, he has no choice other than two straddle these two agendas.

Oklahoma City Thunder

• Over the Tax: ~$9.7 million
• Exceptions Remaining: None
• Roster: 16 signed, 1 two-way deal, 1 camp invite
• Pelton’s RPM Projection: 49.5 wins

The Oklahoma City Thunder are way over that tax line right now. Nearly $10 million must be shed in order for Sam Presti to save his ownership from additional costs. But the general manager has bought himself a long-term logjam with the blockbuster acquisition of Paul George. The former Indiana Pacer has a player option for next summer—one he’s bound to decline en route to exploring free agency.

With Russell Westbrook either signing an extension or placing himself in the same boat, Oklahoma City’s core is due for a raise. And with George, Westbrook and Steven Adams all on the books, the repeater tax would seem all but inevitable in 2018-19.

So does Presti consider ducking the line now at the risk of setting the team back this season?

It helps that the Thunder aren’t hard-capped, which gives them a bit more flexibility to make moves on the trade market. If he looks to dismantle the supporting cast a bit this year, Presti will start that discussion with Enes Kanter. At a time when the market is over-saturated with big men, the number of buyers for a defensive liability like Kanter will be minimal, should any exist at all. More complicated still, the Thunder have to find a team that wants Kanter and is willing to absorb the $10 million difference in salaries they need to shirk the tax.

Other obvious candidates include Kyle Singler, who has just over $9 million guaranteed over the next two years and a deadline to be stretched by August 31st. If the Thunder stretch his deal when releasing him, they save themselves around $3.2 million this season but have to deal with his dead weight for the next six years. Keeping Singler and trying to trade him later is the more likely play.

Any players the Thunder would trade to shed salary are fairly undesirable, and Presti lacks first-round picks to sweeten a deal for any takers. Their 2022 selection is the earliest they can offer. So while Presti may have all the incentives in the world to shed $9.7 million before the end of this season, the practical ways to do so are fairly limited.

The repeater tax is a legitimate worry for small-market teams, and the risk of losing George next summer may be one that forces the Thunder to swallow the bitter pill. Signaling to George, as well as Westbrook, that they are willing to build a contender and not let their stars walk out of town for free is crucial.

Oklahoma City secured massive upgrades this summer. But with more talent comes more money.

And mo’ money, mo’ problems.

Follow Adam on Twitter @Spinella14.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from NBA Math, Basketball Reference or NBA.com. All financial figures and contracts derived from Spotrac.com. For more in-depth salary cap analysis, follow the Box and One NBA Salary Sheets.