The “Traded Player Exception” Term Confusion

The term Traded Player Exception or a TPE is used by the media and the public differently than how it is used in the CBA.

In the CBA, the Traded Player Exception is the broad term referring to either the Aggregated, Expanded, Standard or Room TPE’s.

In the media, when they say a Team has a TPE, they are referring to the remaining money in Standard TPE that can be used to acquire another player without sending out additional Salary (this is discussed below).

Just know that when the media says something like “the Knicks have a $15 million TPE” they mean that the Knicks made a prior trade using the Standard TPE, which hasn’t expired yet. But in the CBA, a Traded Player Exception can refer to all of the different types of TPE’s.

Look Through the Lense of Each Team Separately

When determining if/how a Trade can work, you look through the lense of each Team separately, and optimize the Exceptions for each Team as best you can.

Not only do you look at each Team separately, but the Trade can be broken apart into multiple trades, so long as each separate Trade satisfies Trade Salary and the TPE’s.

Apron Salary vs. Trade Salary

Note the difference between Apron Team Salary and Trade Salary.

Trade Salary is used to determine if the Salary Limits for the applicable TPE is satisfied. Apron Team Salary is used to determine if a Team falls below the First or Second Apron, which then determines if certain TPE’s are available.

These calculations can be different.

Details of Exceptions

Summarizing the TPE’s

Before diving into the details of the TPE, it’s beneficial to see generally (i) what is limited when exceeding each Threshold and (ii) what is never limited in Trade.

Limitations When Exceeding Threshold:

What is Never Restricted in Trade:

More OTS and ITS – Sending out more OTS than ITS will never, on its own, be a reason a Team cannot execute a Trade.

Receiving more Players than Sending Out – No TPE restricts a Team’s ability to acquire more Players than sending out (Roster requirements still must be met).

Standard TPE

General Use

The Standard TPE is always going to be the TPE used when (i) there is one outgoing Player and (ii) the outgoing Player’s Trade Salary is more than the Incoming Trade Salary.

This is because there is no need for the Expanded TPE (don’t need to acquire more money than sending out) or the Aggregated TPE (don’t need to send out more than one Player).

Non-Simultaneous Trade

The major benefit to the Standard TPE is that it is non-simultaneous, which is not the case for any other TPE. The Team has 12 months (or less if over the First Apron) to complete the Trade.

What this means: The Team trades Player A for X amount of dollars more than the Incoming Trade Salary acquired. They now have a TPE for X dollars plus $250k. The Team has 12 months (or less if over the First Apron) to acquire additional players using this TPE without the need to send out more Outgoing Salary.

The Time-Crunch Caveat

There is no Apron limitation to use the Standard TPE, generally. But if you are over the First Apron, your 12-month time limitation to use the TPE shortens to the following:

If the Standard TPE arose during the Regular Season, then it expires at the conclusion of the current Regular Season.

If the Standard TPE arose after the Regular Season and before the following Regular Season starts, then it expires after the day of that following Regular Season.

Aggregated TPE

* The Aggregated TPE doesn’t require 2 or more outgoing players, but the Standard TPE would be used if only 1 Player was outgoing, as the same incoming Trade Salary is permitted for both.

General Use

The Aggregated TPE is used to combine multiple players to add up to enough Outgoing Trade Salary to acquire a Player with a larger amount of Incoming Trade Salary.

It is limited in the sense that you can only acquire 100% Outgoing Salary + $250k of what you are sending out. If you are looking to acquire more Trade Salary than you are sending out, then you must use the Expanded TPE, which is only available to Teams below the First Apron.

Note the Aggregated TPE is restricted to Teams below the Second Apron. So even if a Second Apron Team wants to aggregate players in one trade to obtain one player making less money, they can’t do so.

Expanded TPE

The Expanded TPE is the most flexible of the TPE’s, which is why it is only available to Teams below the First Apron.

It is the only TPE that allows more Incoming Trade Salary than Outgoing Trade Salary, and allows for more than one Player to be aggregated in Outgoing Trade Salary.

The amount of ITS allowed is dependant on the amount of OTS (see chart above). Note that the $8,527,000 cushion is increased in in line with the Salary Cap each season.

Room TPE

The Room TPE simply allows Teams that are landing slightly over the Salary Cap a $250k buffer to execute the trade.

The Room TPE cannot be used simultaneously with another TPE.

A Team is able to use a the Expanded TPE other than the Room TPE if it chooses, even if the Team has enough Cap Space to execute the Trade using the Room TPE.

Additional Limitations to Exceptions

The $250k Cushion and the First Apron

Any time there is a $250k cushion referenced, that cushion is eliminated if the Team lands over the First Apron.

Future Aggregation of Acquired Player

If a Player was acquired using a Salary Cap Exception, then such Player cannot be aggregated in a subsequent trade for two months from the date of acquisition.

• Exception – Prohibition does not apply if (i) Player was acquired prior to December 17th and (ii) is subsequently traded on the Trade Deadline or the day before the Trade Deadline of the same Salary Cap Year.

The “Stacking Minimum Contracts” Limitation

The CBA limits the ability for Teams to combine several Minimum Contracts to reach the applicable Outgoing Trade Salary needed to execute a Trade. Below is the specific rule.

A Team cannot trade more than one Minimum Traded Player if the following elements are met:

1. Trade takes place outside of December 15th through the NBA Deadline;
2. The Team is aggregating 3+ Contracts in Outgoing Salary;
3. The number of incoming Players is less than the number of outgoing Players

Minimum Traded Player

Defined as a Player whose Contract provides for his applicable Minimum Salary for the current Season in which the trade occurs, unless the trade is after the Regular Season, at which point it is the Salary for the subsequent Salary Cap Year.

Disabled Player Exception Limitation

If a Team acquired a Player using the DPE, then they cannot use him as part of a Traded Player Exception.

Hard Capping at each Threshold

Discussed in more detail in the Aprons page, it’s important to note that when a Team uses an Exception that has an Apron limitation, the Team is then hard capped at that Apron and can’t go over it for the remainder to Season (and sometimes, the subsequent Season).

This is to prohibit teams from acting like a Team that’s below the First Apron, use an Exception that’s below the First Apron, to then just go over the First Apron afterward.

Because of this rule, Teams will make their best effort to avoid the Expanded TPE if possible to avoid the First Apron hard cap, particularly if their Apron Salary is close to the threshold.