How does experience accumulate in this game
Experience is gained whenever a player is on court. So more minutes means more experience. It varies according to the importance of the game, so much more for league games than cup games and much less for scrimmages.
It may have changed recently but it gains about one level in just short of two seasons on average.
what sort of effect does it have on the overall play of a player?
This is unknown, but I certainly feel that it makes players make better decisions. Such as when to shoot and when to pass.
My second question, do we know what the soft/hard caps for each level of potential are?
I'm sure this information is somewhere else on the forums, but I honestly can't remember where, sorry. I'm sure someone else will.
I see the salary caps but I was curious about TSP, or is potential capped via Salary? That would be strange
Its not specifically TSP but it is the amount of skills. Depending on position some skills cost more in terms of potential than others. So that depending on the build, players with the same potential may have different TSPs.