<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Free agents officially can sign NBA contracts today, but three-time all-star Gilbert Arenas isn't expected to sign his new deal with the Washington Wizards until after Tuesday, when he returns from a trip to Asia and Europe. Arenas and the Wizards reached an agreement on a six-year, $111 million deal last week, but some details still need to be worked out and both sides wanted to wait until the NBA released next season's salary cap and luxury tax figures last night. The salary cap rose from last season's figure of $55.63 million to around $58.6 million, and the luxury tax threshold went from $67.86 million to $71.15 million. There are several provisions in the collective bargaining agreement that allow teams to go over the salary cap without penalty. However, teams that exceed the luxury tax threshold must pay a dollar-for-dollar tax after the season. That money is then redistributed to teams that remained under the cap. After signing two-time all-star Antawn Jamison to a four-year, $50 million deal early last week, the Wizards had $54.2 million committed in salaries for next season. Arenas, who was offered a maximum-level contract by the Wizards but took between $14 million and $16 million less to give the team financial flexibility, said he expects his first-season cap number to be around $14.5 million.</div> Washington Post
