Traded player exceptions, which we’ve described in the past in the Hoops Rumors Glossary, are often created in trades involving at least one over-the-cap team. Deals of that sort are made frequently in the weeks, days, hours, or even minutes leading up to February’s trade deadline, and trade exceptions expire one year after they’re created, so it would make sense that several TPEs would be on track to expire later this month, as a result of last year’s deadline moves. That’s not the case, however.
As I noted when I took a closer look at trade exceptions back in July, the NBA’s huge salary cap jump in 2016 resulted in just three teams – the Clippers, Raptors, and Cavaliers – staying over the cap through the offseason. The league’s other 27 teams opted to use cap room, which meant renouncing any trade exceptions that may have been on their books.
As a result, eight trade exceptions that would have expired this February were renounced over the summer instead, with the Hawks, Bulls, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Heat, and Suns all forfeiting at least one TPE.
Since only the Clippers, Raptors, and Cavs stayed over the cap, those are the only teams that could still own TPEs which would expire this February. Los Angeles and Toronto didn’t create any trade exceptions at last season’s deadline, leaving Cleveland as the only team with any exceptions expiring this month — the Cavs hold two TPEs, both created in the same three-way deal. They’ll expire on February 18, so if the club intends to make use of either of them, it will have to happen a few days before this year’s deadline.
The first Cavs exception, created when they sent Jared Cunningham to Orlando, is worth just $947,276. Given its modest value, that TPE is unlikely to be used at this year’s deadline. However, the club’s other remaining trade exception is worth monitoring.
Initially worth more than $9.6MM, Cleveland’s second TPE was created when the club sent Anderson Varejao to Portland, and it has already come in handy — the Cavs used more than $5.2MM of that exception to acquire Kyle Korver from Atlanta last month, paring its overall value down to just under $4.4MM.
That isn’t a huge amount to work with, but as I observed when I examined the Cavs’ options last month, there are a few intriguing veteran point guards around the league whose salaries would fit into that TPE, including guys like Leandro Barbosa, J.J. Barea, and Devin Harris. Cleveland probably won’t end up acquiring any of those players, but the trade exception gives the club some flexibility to fortify its roster without sending out any salary in return.
The full list of the NBA’s outstanding trade exceptions can be found right here.
