Remember last year when this was a solemn day for the Wizards, as they took a hefty hit against a salary cap that had dropped by nearly $1 million? Not exactly the case this season.

A short time ago the NBA officially announced that the salary cap for the 2010-11 season will be $58.044 million (luxury tax $70.307 million), and increase of $344,000 from 2009-10. The important thing to remember is that any team whose team salary exceeds that figure will pay a dollar-for-dollar tax for each $1 that exceeds $70.307 million.

What happened to the bad economy? Apparently, it ain't the case in the NBA, as the final number is way up from what had been projected. Ken Berger of CBSsports.com has a very good take on the impact of today's announcement.

A few verbatim items from the league's release: 1) The 2009-10 salary cap was $57.70 million and the tax level was $69.92 million; 2) the new salary cap and tax level go into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday, July 8, when the league’s “moratorium period” ends and teams can begin signing free agents and making trades; and 3) the mid-level exception is $5.765 million for the 2010-11 season and the minimum team salary, which is set at 75% of the Salary Cap, is $43.533 million.

What does this all mean for Washington? I'm no cap expert, but to this point my math has, to this point, total Wizards salaries at $47.68 million, more than $10 million underneath the cap. That figure includes Kirk Hinrich and Kevin Seraphin, both of whom can be officially announced as acquisitions tomorrow, and the other first-round rookies, John Wall and Trevor Booker.

Now, get back to the LeBron watch already.