What is a Cap hold?

A cap hold is an essential concept in the context of the NBA salary cap system. It refers to the amount of salary cap space that a team is required to set aside for a player who is a free agent or has a contract that is expiring. This hold ensures that the team maintains some flexibility to re-sign their current players, as it represents an estimate of what that player will earn under the cap for the upcoming season.

When a player's current contract expires, the team will typically have a cap hold for that player until they either re-sign or sign elsewhere. This mechanism is crucial because it affects how much money the team has available to sign other players, reinforcing the importance of strategic financial planning in roster management.

In contrast, the other choices pertain to different aspects of the salary cap structure but do not accurately define what a cap hold is. Therefore, focusing on the idea that a cap hold is specifically related to maintaining a reserve for expected player salaries helps clarify its role in the salary cap system.