How Teams Have Used The Bi-Annual Exception

More players have signed for the bi-annual exception this summer than in any offseason since 2009. Still, few teams in recent years have made use of the tool that's available to every club with a team salary between the cap and the luxury tax apron.

This year, the bi-annual allows for a starting salary of up to $2.016MM. Contracts can be for two seasons, with a 4.5% raise allowed for year two. Nate Robinson and the Nuggets, Eric Maynor and the Wizards, and C.J. Watson and the Pacers have all agreed to the full amount. The Warriors and Jermaine O'Neal struck a one-year deal for $2MM, just a shade under the full bi-annual amount. There's dispute over whether the Timberwolves used the bi-annual for Ronny Turiaf's new contract. Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld has Turiaf's two-year, $3MM deal down for a partial amount of the bi-annual, while Mark Deeks of ShamSports lists him as having signed for part of the mid-level exception. 

Either way, that's the most bi-annual signings we've seen in a while, and there could be more on the way. The trend won't necessarily continue, since, as the name suggests, teams can't use the bi-annual two years in a row. As more teams use the bi-annual this year, fewer will be eligible to do so next year.

Here's a look at the use of bi-annual exception over the last several years. The use of the term "full amount" below refers to the starting salary, as some of those players signed for the maximum two years while others took only a one-year deal.

2013/14

• Nuggets — Gave the full amount to Nate Robinson
• Wizards — Gave the full amount to Eric Maynor
• Timberwolves — Gave a partial amount to Ronny Turiaf¹
• Warriors — Gave a partial amount to Jermaine O'Neal
• Pacers — Gave the full amount to C.J. Watson 

2012/13

• Bulls — Gave the full amount to Marco Belinelli
• Spurs — Gave a partial amount to Nando De Colo
• Clippers — Gave the full amount to Grant Hill

2011/12

• Raptors — Gave the full amount to Gary Forbes
• Grizzlies — Gave the full amount to Jeremy Pargo

2010/11

• Pistons — Gave the full amount to Ben Wallace
• Bucks — Gave the full amount to Keyon Dooling

2009/10

• Celtics — Gave the full amount to Marquis Daniels
• Bulls — Gave the full amount to Jannero Pargo
• Bobcats — Gave the full amount to Ronald Murray
• Cavaliers — Gave the full amount to Zydrunas Ilgauskas²
• Pacers — Gave a partial amount to Solomon Jones
• Lakers — Gave the full amount to Shannon Brown
• Timberwolves — Gave a partial amount to Sasha Pavlovic
• Raptors — Gave the full amount to Rasho Nesterovic
• Wizards — Gave the full amount to Fabricio Oberto

2008/09

• Rockets — Gave the full amount to Brent Barry
• Bucks — Gave a partial amount to Francisco Elson
• Nets — Gave the full amount to Jarvis Hayes
• Magic — Gave the full amount to Anthony Johnson

2007/08

• Mavericks — Gave the full amount to Eddie Jones
• Pelicans — Gave the full amount to Jannero Pargo
• Suns — Gave the full amount to Grant Hill
• Raptors — Gave the full amount to Maceo Baston

2006/07

• Pistons — Gave full amount to Ronald Murray
• Clippers — Gave full amount to Aaron Williams
• Lakers — Gave full amount to Shammond Williams
• Knicks — Gave a prorated amount to Randolph Morris²
• Sixers — Gave a partial amount to Shavlik Randolph
• Kings — Gave a partial amount to Loren Woods

1. There are conflicting reports over whether the Timberwolves used the bi-annual exception for Turiaf's deal. See the introduction above.
2. The bi-annual exception begins to prorate downward on January 10th. Ilgauskas and Morris signed after that date. 

Storytellers Contracts and ShamSports were used in the creation of this post.