I doubt this would be workable as it would likely need to be put into the CBA, but if you could let the expansion teams work with a higher salary cap for the first three seasons of their existence. The three years is an arbitrary number and lets pick a 25% percent higher cap for the expansion teams. If their paying $500 million expansion fees, spending extra money in the first few years shouldnt be a big deal for them. Set some parameters for how the extra cap space is allowed to be used in terms of how teams can acquire veteran players in the expansion draft and as an example, allowable front end bonuses these teams can pay to freeagents they sign. It might let these teams take on some overpaid but still valuable veterans and attract some free agents.
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