How They Were Signed: Mini Mid-Level & Room Exception

Continuing to look at how players on current NBA rosters were signed; we will combine the two non-standard forms of the mid-level exception. As previously discussed, there are three versions of the mid-level exception dependent upon where the team’s salary is in relation to the salary cap and luxury tax amount.

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. We have already looked at players signed under the full mid-level exception and today we will focus on those players signed under the room exception and mini mid-level exception.

The room exception allows teams to sign players for up to two years. The amount they are allowed to offer that player in the first year of the contract changes each year and in 2013/14 that amount was $2.65MM. 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 and were under the salary cap could use the room exception to offer that player up to a $5.42MM contract.

The mini mid-level exception allows teams to sign players for up to three years. The amount they are allowed to offer that player in the first year of the contract also changes each year and in 2013/14 that amount was $3.18MM. The contract can grow each year at a maximum rate of 4.5%. Therefore teams who were looking to offer a player a contract this past offseason and were above both the salary cap and the luxury tax amount could use the mini mid-level exception to offer that player up to a $9.98MM contract.

Teams are allowed to use both of these exceptions 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 these exceptions is available here.

Below is a team-by-team list of which players on current NBA rosters were signed under either the room exception or the mini mid-level exception. Assume the player was signed using the mini mid-level exception unless otherwise stated.

  • Atlanta Hawks 
    • None
  • Boston Celtics 
  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Charlotte Bobcats
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Cleveland Cavaliers 
    • None
  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Denver Nuggets 
    • None
  • Detroit Pistons
    • None
  • Golden State
    • None
  • Houston Rockets
  • Indiana Pacers
    • None
  • Los Angeles Clippers
    • None
  • Los Angeles Lakers
  • Memphis Grizzlies
    • None
  • Miami Heat
  • Milwaukee Bucks
    • None
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
    • None
  • New Orleans Pelicans
    • None
  • New York Knicks
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
    • None
  • Orlando Magic
    • None
  • Philadelphia 76ers
    • None
  • Phoenix Suns
    • None
  • Portland Trailblazers
    • Mo Williams ($2.65MM 13/14; $2.77MM 14/15) (Room Exception)
  • Sacramento Kings
  • San Antonio Spurs
    • None
  • Toronto Raptors
    • None
  • Utah Jazz
    • None
  • Washington Wizards
    • None

StorytellersContracts and ShamSports were used in the creation of this post.

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