After looking at players that were signed under a team’s cap space and under one of the infrequently used salary cap exceptions – the bi-annual exception; we will look at which players on current NBA rosters were signed using the mid-level exception.
The mid-level exception is the second most frequently used salary cap exception and comes in three forms. These forms of the mid-level exception depend on whether the NBA team’s player contracts are below the cap, or in the luxury tax. Teams below the salary cap are given what is referred to as the room exception. Teams above the luxury tax line are given what is referred to as a mini mid-level exception. Teams above the salary cap but below the luxury tax are allotted the full mid-level exception. Today we will only focus on those players signed under the full mid-level exception and will look at the room exception and mini mid-level exception another time.
The full mid-level exception allows teams to sign players for up to four years. The amount they are allowed to offer that player in the first year of the contract changes each year. For 2013/14 that amount was $5.15MM. The contract can grow each year to a maximum of 4.5%. Therefore teams who were looking to offer a player a contract this past offseason but were over the cap could offer that player up to a $21.99MM contract.
Teams are also allowed to use this exception each year and are not required to use it on only one player but can split it among multiple players. A more detailed explanation of the mid-level exception is available here.
Below is a team-by-team list of which players on current NBA rosters were signed under the standard mid-level exception.
- Atlanta Hawks
- Louis Williams ($5.23MM 13/14; $5.45MM 14/15)
- Gustavo Ayon ($1.50MM 13/14; $1.88MM 14/15)
- Boston Celtics
- None
- Brooklyn Nets
- Jason Terry ($5.63MM 13/14; $5.85MM 14/15)
- Charlotte Bobcats
- None
- Chicago Bulls
- Kirk Hinrich ($4.06MM 13/14)
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- None
- Dallas Mavericks
- None
- Denver Nuggets
- J.J. Hickson ($5.15MM 13/14; $5.38MM 14/15; $5.61MM 15/16)
- Anthony Randolph ($1.75MM 13/14; $1.83MM 14/15)
- Quincy Miller ($0.79MM 13/14; $0.92MM 14/15; $1.18MM 15/16)
- Detroit Pistons
- Kyle Singler ($1.05MM 13/14; $1.09MM 14/15; $1.36MM 15/16)
- Golden State
- Marreese Speights ($3.5MM 13/14; $3.66MM 14/15; $3.82MM 15/16)
- Toney Douglas ($1.60MM 13/14)
- Draymond Green ($0.88MM 13/14; $0.92MM 14/15; $1.18MM 15/16)
- Houston Rockets
- None
- Indiana Pacers
- Chris Copeland ($3.00MM 13/14; $3.14MM 14/15; $3.92MM 15/16)
- Lance Stephenson ($1.01MM 13/14)
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Jamal Crawford ($5.23MM 13/14; $5.45MM 14/15; $5.68MM 15/16)
- Matt Barnes ($3.25MM 13/14; $3.40MM 14/15; $3.54MM 15/16)
- Darren Collison ($1.90MM 13/14; $1.99MM 14/15)
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Steve Blake ($4.00MM 13/14)
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Jerryd Bayless ($3.14MM 13/14)
- Jamaal Franklin ($0.54MM 13/14)
- Miami Heat
- None
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Khris Middleton ($0.79MM 13/14; $0.92MM 14/15)
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Dante Cunningham ($2.18MM 13/14)
- New Orleans Pelicans
- None
- New York Knicks
- None
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Hasheem Thabeet ($1.20MM 13/14; $1.25MM 14/15)
- Orlando Magic
- Jason Maxiell ($2.50MM 13/14; $2.50MM 14/15)
- Doron Lamb ($0.79MM 13/14; $0.92MM 14/15; $1.18MM 15/16)
- Kyle O’Quinn ($0.79MM 13/14; $0.92MM 14/15; $1.18MM 15/16)
- Philadelphia 76ers
- None
- Phoenix Suns
- Channing Frye ($6.40MM 13/14; $6.80MM 14/15)
- Viacheslav Kravtsov ($1.50MM 13/14)
- Portland Trailblazers
- Wesley Matthews ($6.88MM 13/14; $7.25MM 14/15)
- Sacramento Kings
- None
- San Antonio Spurs
- Boris Diaw ($4.70MM 13/14)
- Marco Belinelli ($2.75MM 13/14; $2.87MM 14/15)
- Jeff Ayres ($1.75MM 13/14; $1.83MM 14/15)
- Toronto Raptors
- Tyler Hansbrough ($3.18MM 13/14; $3.33MM 14/15)
- Dwight Buycks ($0.70MM 13/14; $0.82MM 14/15; $1.15MM 15/16)
- Utah Jazz
- None
- Washington Wizards
- Martell Webster ($5.15MM 13/14; $5.38MM 14/15; $5.61MM 15/16; $5.85MM 16/17)
StorytellersContracts and ShamSports were used in the creation of this post.