The $17.2MM traded player exception held by the Warriors as a result of last year’s Andre Iguodala trade has become one of the most intriguing non-player assets to watch during the coming NBA offseason.
Trade exceptions allow NBA teams to take on a certain amount of salary without sending out any salary in return for matching purposes. While they typically expire after one year, the expiry dates for the Warriors’ TPE and the others created last July will be postponed until after the start of this year’s free agent period to make sure clubs still have a chance to use them. The start date for the 2020 free agent period remains up in the air, but appears likely to land sometime in late November.
Despite the extended deadline, the Warriors aren’t a lock to make use of their trade exception. Most TPEs ultimately go unused, and Golden State already projects to be a taxpaying team in 2020/21 — taking on additional salary will cost the team exponentially more in tax penalties.
Still, few NBA teams are more comfortable with a high payroll than the Warriors, and that exception represents one of the few paths the capped-out club has to improve its roster, so there has been plenty of speculation in recent months about how it could be used.
Much of that speculation has centered on the idea that the Warriors will try to acquire a single player whose salary is near that $17.2MM upper limit, but there are several other ways the team could theoretically look to utilize its TPE.
We’ll run through a few of those potential paths in the space below, so let’s dive right in…
Acquiring a single player
This is the simplest option for the Warriors and a potential trade partner. In this scenario, Golden State would likely send out a draft pick or two in exchange for a single player whose salary comes in below $17,285,185.
This category covers a wide range of possibilities. For instance, Golden State would be able to use the exception to accommodate a player like Evan Fournier, who is making $17.15MM next season. However, the team has no obligation to use as much of the TPE as possible, so it could just as easily be used to acquire a player earning $3MM or $4MM who might represent a better value.
Depending on the value and the cost of the incoming player, the Warriors may be willing to put one of their most valuable trade assets – this year’s No. 2 pick or next year’s top-three protected Timberwolves pick – on the table. But some veteran trade candidates won’t have nearly that high a price tag.
Acquiring multiple players
Unlike certain other salary cap exceptions – such as the disabled player exception – a trade exception can be used multiple times as long as there’s still money left on it. For instance, the Warriors’ $17MM+ TPE could be used to acquire a player earning $10MM and a second player earning $7MM.
There are countless examples of how this could work, but after using Fournier as our first example, let’s stick with the Magic — Golden State’s exception could theoretically be used to acquire, say, Terrence Ross ($13.5MM) and Khem Birch ($3MM). The Warriors could also use it in two separate trades.
Targeting multiple lower-cost players rather than one more expensive target could be a way for the Warriors to replenish their veteran depth.
Acquiring a bridge player
Yet another member of the Magic – Aaron Gordon – has frequently been cited as a potential trade target for the Warriors, but his 2020/21 salary ($18.14MM) isn’t quite small enough to fit into Golden State’s TPE. Because trade exceptions can’t be combined with player salaries, there’s no way for the Dubs to directly use their TPE to accommodate a Gordon deal.
However, there’s a workaround if the Warriors do want to target a player who makes a salary in that range — a “bridge” player.
Using the TPE, Golden State could theoretically acquire a player on an expiring contract in the $16-17MM range, such as Timberwolves forward James Johnson. From there, they could flip that player in a second trade to acquire someone making up to about $20MM, via normal salary-matching rules. Essentially, they’d be using the first player’s contract as a bridge to accommodate the second’s.
There are plenty of potential obstacles here. For one, it would mean working out two separate trades with two different teams — negotiating one deal is tricky enough, so adding the extra step might cost the Warriors an extra asset.
Additionally, if Golden State wants to turn around and flip a player it just acquired via trade, it can’t combine him with a second player for salary-matching purposes, which would limit the club’s options to some extent.
Still, if a player like Gordon or Myles Turner ($18MM) is high on the Warriors’ wish list, this route might be the most viable way of getting them to Golden State.
Acquiring a player via sign-and-trade
Although a trade exception can’t be used to sign a free agent outright, it can be used to accommodate a sign-and-trade, as long as certain criteria are met and the player’s first-year salary fits into the exception.
Unfortunately, this probably isn’t an option for the Warriors, since a team acquiring a player via sign-and-trade can’t have a team salary above the tax apron (approximately $138.9MM if the cap doesn’t increase) at any time during the league year. This restriction is why Golden State had to trade Iguodala in the first place last July to accommodate the D’Angelo Russell sign-and-trade.
The Warriors already have $142MM+ in guaranteed salaries on their books for 2020/21, so barring major cost-cutting moves, a sign-and-trade acquisition won’t be possible.
Claiming a player on waivers
A trade exception can also be used to claim a player off waivers, as long as his salary fits into the TPE. However, like the sign-and-trade concept, this may not be one of the Warriors’ more viable options.
If a team is waiving a player, it presumably means that team wasn’t able to trade him for anything of value. If that’s the case, Golden State is unlikely to want the player on the terms of his existing contract — he’ll likely pass through waivers and be available at a lower cost.
This is still a scenario worth keeping in the backs of our minds if a productive player hits waivers, but it seems like a long shot.
Completing a trade that allows the exception to be rolled over
A trade exception can essentially be “rolled over” if a team has an exception available but sends out salary as part of the deal anyway.
For example, if two teams swap a pair of players earning $15MM apiece and one team has a $15MM trade exception available, that club could use the exception to take on the incoming player and create a new exception using the outgoing player’s salary. That would reset the one-year clock to use the TPE.
This is a somewhat tricky concept, and in the Warriors’ case, it’s complicated further by the fact that the team has no contracts in the $17MM range — the only Golden State player earning between $5MM and $29.5MM in 2020/21 is Draymond Green ($22.24MM), who is unlikely to be dealt.
Still, there’s theoretically a way to make this work, especially if the Warriors’ trade partner has cap room. Here’s a hypothetical example: Let’s say the Hawks and Warriors work out a deal that sends Andrew Wiggins ($29.54MM) and a draft pick to Atlanta in exchange for Dewayne Dedmon ($13.33MM) and Kevin Huerter ($2.76MM).
The Hawks will have more than enough cap space available to accommodate the extra incoming salary, while the Warriors could fit Dedmon’s and Huerter’s contracts into their trade exception. As a result, Golden State could create a new trade exception worth Wiggins’ outgoing salary ($29.54MM) and would have a full year to use it.
I’m not sure either Atlanta or Golden State would be overly enthusiastic about that specific trade, but it serves as an example of how the Warriors could avoid losing the TPE while also avoiding tacking on a ton of extra money to their 2020/21 payroll. In this hypothetical scenario, they’d have even more flexibility with that new larger trade exception down the road, while also reducing their short-term team salary.
It will be difficult to find the right trade partner and the right combination of assets to make this scenario work. But last year’s Russell sign-and-trade was an example of the Warriors’ willingness to accumulate assets whenever and however they can in the hopes that they’ll be able to eventually maximize their value and fit — they knew Russell probably wouldn’t be a long-term fixture, but recognized getting him and trading him down the road was better than losing Kevin Durant for nothing. They’ll likely consider taking a similar approach with this trade exception if no other favorable options arise.
Contract information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
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Way to spell it out. Dedmon & Huerter for Wiggins is just what they need! Maybe not the Hawks.
Given their current cap situation this is probably the most sensible way of using the exception, by reducing their payroll rather than adding to it. The $100M extension given to Draymond has put a huge strain on what they can do next season to improve the team. They will already have a tax bill around $50M with their current payroll and if the Warriors decide to use the entire $17.2M exception, and possibly their MLE as well, that number should easily double.
Wiggins might be overpaid, but he has a lot more value than just Dedmon & Huerter. He is a very good player, just maybe a max player. I understand why it was used as an example, but the Warriors would be dumb to make this deal. In essence, it would mean they wasted their time and lost Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala and a 2024 1st rounder and another draft pick for a bad contract in Dedmon and back up guard in Huerter.
They’d be better off just letting the exception expire and keep Wiggins.
Wiggins isn’t really a “very good” player.
He is a very low efficiency (career 52.2 TS%) player that requires massive volume (career 25.6 USG) to put up #’s. That’s rarely a formula for success.
He can’t shoot 3’s even remotely close to league average…well below average in both C&S + Pull Up 3 situations. Indicators for ability to improve 3P shot are grim: below avg FT% and horrific from 16-24′ range (at high volume no less)…for 6 years now.
In PnR, he’s avg of bottom 42nd %ile of entire NBA for his 6 seasons. In Isolation, he’s career avg of bottom 33d %ile in entire NBA.
He’ll be 26 in Feb, and has been given massive volume and minutes. So there’s no “opportunity” or injury history to factor in.
Players like that are usually found in 6th man / microwave bench scorer type roles.
How many teams can risk spending 1/3 of their cap (avg of $31.6m) for next 3 years on a player that is unlikely to be more than that?
The price for that risk is steep.
Keep your advanced stats, I’ll take a guy that is virtually guaranteed to give me 20 points a game each and every game. Until they change things, points is really all that matters when it comes down to wins and losses. Winning ugly is a lot better than losing pretty. The man is not the next big thing like he was projected to be, by those same advanced stats by the way, but he is a solid starter in the NBA. He might not be the #1 option on a contender. But he could easily be the #2 option and you aren’t going to find many better #3 options.
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to impose it as dogma.
Ppg without context is the only dogma , Wiggins can get you 20 ppg if you give him At least 23 shots per game ! That’s horrible efficiency and doesn’t help his team win at all !
You mean guaranteed to give you 20 points and a big fat L.
When exactly is it that Wiggins’ game has led to W’s; even as “ugly W’s?”
He literally has a .309 winning % (.388 with Minnesota and .231 with Warriors)
Also, things have changed. The NBA is about spacing more than ever; and efficiency is a massive indicator of success in the NBA.
You are entitled to your opinion, one that refuses to acknowledge the W-L column AND one that refuses to adapt to modern metrics, but you are not entitled to impose it as dogma.
Advance stats
Wiggins is comparable to Zach LaVine in many category
LaVine is way more efficient (above league average in 3 of 4 recent seasons + is a solid 3PT shooter + is much better in Isolation and is exponentially better creator for others.
Magic@, most of those stats are his six years with the Minnesota Timberwolves. They weren’t very good. In fact Jimmy Butler lasted only one season there right? He wanted out of town faster than you can say “I guess Jimmy is showing that he’s a malcontent, a troublemaker and not a very good player.”
It’s funny how a change of scenery can help improve a player’s performance. Warriors are counting on that with Wiggins.., if they decide to keep him. IF.
They will keep him I can guarantee bucks will never ever ever trade for him ! They will let Wiggins walk for nothing then just say geez I’ll talks Wiggins and lamelo and a possibly good or crappy wolves pick and just give up on next year lol
Noel1982@, it’s a good thing you don’t make decisions for the Milwaukee Bucks, because if you did you’d watch them go back to being …, the Milwaukee Bucks LOL.
By that I mean not making the playoffs, never signing an outside free agent, drafting from 8th to 15th every year, and just wallowing in The swamp pit’s of the Eastern Conference with Washington and Charlotte and Indiana and Orlando and 38 other crappy EC teams that do NOTHING every year. That’s what would happen if you let Giannis antetokounmpo walk away for nothing at the end of next season. That is bad management.
Just be glad the Bucks let you watch them on TV and stay quiet. If you say anything they’ll find out and cut off your cable access. Don’t take that same risk here on hoopsrumors. If you keep saying you’ll let Giannis walk away for nothing and not trade him this offseason or trading deadline, Hoops rumors will find out and you’ll have to change your username to Noel2035, which is the only time after 1982 that the Bucks will make the Eastern Conference Finals.
I don’t like the bucks let alone make decisions for them but I know them well enough to know they won’t trade him this off season ! Bc first Giannis hasn’t given them any reason to believe he’s gone period! Also teams have taken the risk of letting their stars ( lebron many times , Durant etc) play out the final year of their contract to go for it all one more time ! Only time they don’t is when a guy makes it clear they are leaving which again Giannis hasn’t!
But for arguments sake nobody knows what he wants so they are in no position to just have to take the crappy wolves offer of Wiggins pick 2 in a sheet draft and the unknown of the wolves pick ! They can do better then that bc Wiggins is negative value he’s not gonna be a star not a all star nada ! Almost every team would be trying to trade for him and his bird rights and he’s given no indication he wants to be a warrior like Other stars have picked teams ( ad ,Kawhi ) To try and scare other teams off ! That’s all , Giannis will not be a warrior , it’s bucks or heat
Also if they lose Giannis via trade or free agency they are toast all the same ! But not having Andrew Wiggins on their roster and payroll is a win for them , Wiggins needs to spend the rest of his career with the warriors learning how to be a role player that learns to do the little things to help teams win , that not stardom is his fate so good that you like him
The reason why I think he’ll go to the Warriors is because any other team that’s mentioned as a Giannis trade partner would deplete their whole team just to bring in Giannis. It would be tough to match that salary and still have a team left over after the trade. That’s why I think the Warriors stand a good chance.
Plus Mike budenholzer has learned from Gregg Popovich that if a guy doesn’t look good for the future, you trade the guy today. To me letting any All Star Walk Away for nothing is risky.
It is risky but it has happened before and will happen again ! Next year might be their last chance at competing for anything so they will take it they are not gonna trade Giannis to the Warriors by draft day that I can guarantee you ! Also again nobody including warriors but you still sees stardom in Wiggins future he’s a huge negative trade asset ! Bucks would want those picks just to take Wiggins while sending Nothing of value back! I can only guarantee you one thing come opening night whenever that is zero chance Giannis is a golden state warrior , sorry it’s not happening
I mean he wouldn’t accept anyways right now but since their season ended I’m sure the nba has a strict no transaction policy ! The league and the players don’t have any idea what numbers or rules they will be working with ! Suggesting he wants out or is definitely leaving is pure guessing and most likely bs
Giannis can stop all this trade talk if he signs an extension right after the finals. Every week that goes by the doubts will creep in, management will get nervous, the phone calls will come in and they will start listening.
If Giannis takes off to Europe for an extended vacation and not accessible for contract stuff then I will consider that a bad sign. In fact he’s probably already in Europe. Sayonara baby. He’s probably in Buddy hield’s class of “phone calls 101” right now.
Butler wanted out of there specifically because of players that just worried about their PPG not W’s.
Butler has been instrumental in making EVERY team he’s been on a winner…Chicago, Minnesota (in 1 and only yr) and now Miami.
That is the opposite of Wiggins.
Change of scenery like GSW’s might help hide Wiggins flaws, but it’s extremely unlikely to erase them.
Very few teams want to risk that nightmare contract or the type of player attached to it.
I have faith in him. I don’t think the Warriors trade away D’Angelo Russell for the man if they didn’t think he would improve the team. Well that’s unless you give me a 1st pick with it. LOL. I see what you’re saying but I’m hoping for big things. I’m an optimist, especially when it comes to people. I see the potential of improvement for anyone that wants it in their life.
I’d say one of the main reasons Butler wanted out of town was Wiggins being in town.
Well Wiggins is out of town now and with the Supreme organization in all of sports if you look at the owner, the GM, the star players ( think what you will of Draymond Green, he’s good for the team in many different ways,) the business and investment opportunities in the city location. The value of the team is extremely high, they spend money and they’ll reward you a max $$ if you’re a star, EVEN IF IT MEANS PAYING BIG TAX $$. What’s not to like ?
I think Wiggins will flourish there, he is an excellent athlete and might even try on defense. With green in his ear in the workout room and at practice and in games I believe Wiggins will put everything together because I think he’s capable of it. Or they might trade him for someone even better.
Wiggins for GSW is not horrible because the club is rich and he won’t be a leader and can fit in. But that changes across the NBA as he and his contract can be poisonous.
The Hawks can handle him, with their cheap first contracts that leave lots of room for an overpaid vet, and no established system to interfere with. He might appeal to Trey Young, being reliable, maybe a pairable talent which I think he lacks now. If GM Schlenk has a prospect they need that pick for; or, GSW offers both high firsts; or, he has no plans to max Collins, he might okay it. But there are snags, like Wiggins would interfere with future maxxes to Young & Collins so probably a no from that end.
Gary you’re carrying water for GSW’s hopes of getting Giannis by shaking the trees hard and often enough. Most people in Milwaukee would not want to be the one to trade Giannis, would not even want to be accused of looking for a deal. With Adebayo bent sideways, there is no point in looking.
Great points as usual. I’m just excited at the possibilities this offseason for the Warriors. Pretty fascinating times.. they’ve never had such assets at their disposal to deal for a star or two. Going to be interesting how it all plays out.
Warriors can
use 2021 projected 4th pick to pack with TPE
Use projected 2021 25th pick to pack with TPE
Use 2021 projected 34, 47 and 52 picks to pack with TPE
Quote Bleacher Report
There is a pathway for both the Warriors and Hawks to be able to work out a deal with each other. The trade package Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report suggested involved the Warriors receiving John Collins and Kevin Huerter from the Hawks in exchange for the No. 2 pick, Kevon Looney, and Jordan Poole.
That seems like a much more reasonable deal to me. Although I don’t think the Hawks will want to give up Collins.
The Hawks probably don’t want to max Collins but don’t want the wedge issue around all year. GSW may not want it either but they have a year to decide, if they get him.
Wow from the Warriors perspective that would be an amazing deal. But how much of that Bleacher Report stuff is true? I don’t even go to that website because its content is so out of the park Wild in regards to who’s going where and other rumors. They get you salivating on certain ideas that have no chance of happening. My heart can’t take that.
It’s like watching the afternoon soap operas or pro wrestling when I was a kid. Yes it’s exciting to watch women cheat on their husbands or see 300-pound guys throw each other around, but all that stuff’s not true.
That’s nothing to say of the Hawks unloading John Collins? Isn’t he a pretty amazing young player for them to dump in favor of Weisman or lamelo ball or Edwards ?
Yeah I don’t believe it.
I’m very neutral toward the Hawks and GSW. If the Hawks are trading up, they’re most likely to want Edwards, and if Atl doesn’t know who the Wolves are picking, why trade up.
If the Wolves bump their head on the way to the draft and take Ball, GSW is probably going to have a short amount of time to answer a lot of calls.
I think a lot of these things are in place before the draft. That’s why they don’t announce the trades until after the pics because the deal is not done UNLESS a certain guy is there. There’s no way you can accomplish some of those deals in the 5 minutes between 1st round picks. And the second-rounders have 2 minutes.., but there’s a hundred deals in the second round. All this stuff is already laid out.
wiggins is staying stop making trade scenarios where he leaves. NOT HAPPENING
Just saying something doesn’t make it so. WHY do you think Wiggins is stayingin GS ?
Bc warriors very likely view him in higher esteem they the rest of the nba ! Again don’t even think warriors believe he’s headed towards stardom they have a role in mind for him that he can help them win if he’s willing which remains to be seen ! But barring him balling all out right now no other team sees Wiggins as the key to their rebuild, wolves threw in a potentially high pick just to move him and took back a better but flawed player on a bad contract ! Wiggins will play out his deal with the wolves
I already know why YOU think so what about this other fellow that’s just making a drive-by statement with no support. I’m curious what someone else has to say.
Fair enough Not sure his thinking is warriors couldn’t trade Wiggins or if they wouldn’t trade Wiggins like he’s untouchable
Good point. Could be either/or.
How about …
GSW: Dwayne Dedmon, Kevin Heuter and the 6th pick
Hawks: trade exception, the second overall pick and two future seconds
GSW use the exception which fits Dedmon and Heuter and also getting back a solid pick, meanwhile the hawks get the second best pick to help build with Trae Young, John Collins and Clint Capela their three best players.
In Dedmon GSW get a three point shooting, shot blocking centre who can be a starter or impact from the bench. In Kevin they get a young Klay Thompson to develop. Both players would be very helpful for a contending GSW next season. They also get a pick which would leave them choosing from the likes of Cole Anthony, Deni Avdija, Onyeka Okungwu, James Wiseman, Obi Toppin and Tyrese Haliburton. Whoever they get from this bunch would still be really useful and would be apart of a future of GSW.
Atlanta would be getting either LaMelo Ball or Anthony Edwards bia the draft and slotting that played in at SG to form a nice backcourt. Ball would represent a huge upside combo guard with good height, good passing, good shooting and just needing to work on defence and consistentcy. Edwards, from ATL, who be a solid two way SG who can be dependable on both ends and reminds me of Victor Oladipowhich would be perfect for Trae Young. The other thing Atlanta would get rom the deal is a bunch of cap space in which they can secure John Collins, pay Trae Young when his deals is due and still bring in quality role players.
What they gave up is a back up centre on 13mil, and Kevin Hueter who was nice but Ball and Edwards would both be huge upgrades plus the cap space they clear and second rounds pick should be enough.
GSW get much stronger for a title push next season and ATL speed up their rebuild and get a future star while clearing even more cap space
GSW (plus some likely Vet Min signings)
1. Curry. Bowman. Lee
2. Thompson. Heuter. Poole
3. Wiggins. Bazemore. Avdija*.
4. Green. Paschall. Smailagic
5. Dedmon. Looney. Chriss
ATL (plus some likely FA signings)
1. Young. Teague. Winston
2. Ball/Edwards. Reddish
3. Crowder*. Hunter
4. Collins. Saric.
5. Capela. Len. Fernando
ATL should not have to give up their #6 unless they REALLY want Wiseman.
Wonder if they could lure Lebron James (Lakers Forward) with the 2 pick and the trade exception??