B/R AM: New Rule Halting NBA Chaos
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One trend this free agency: The usual big spenders are shedding salary rather than making splashy moves.
The reason: The new CBA's first and second 'apron' system.
With NBA payrolls, there's now the soft salary cap ($140M total), the luxury tax level ($170M), the first apron ($178M) and the second apron ($188M).
- If a team's yearly payroll reaches either apron -- especially the second -- they enter flexibility hell
- For example: Second apron teams can't aggregate contracts in trades, can't take on extra cash in trades, can't include cash in trades and can't add buyout players
- Also, if a payroll enters the second apron twice in four years, you essentially lose a first-round pick
TLDR: Under the apron rules, expensive teams must pay extreme luxury taxes without clear avenues for improvement.
Teams it's impacted: Clippers (Paul George), Nuggets (KCP), Warriors (CP3, Klay Thompson).
Teams who are unbothered: The Celtics, who announced the franchise is up for sale yesterday while also giving out $440M in deals.