Hoops Rumors’ up-to-date list of traded player exceptions is below. These are salary cap exceptions teams can use to acquire one or more players whose salaries are no greater than the amount of the exception plus $100K. Trade exceptions cannot be combined or used to sign a free agent, and expire after one year. For more information on traded player exceptions, check out Hoops Rumors’ glossary entry.
The amount of the exception, the deal in which it was obtained, and the expiration date are listed below. If a team has used a portion of an exception, that is also indicated. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.
Note: Many of the expiry dates for trade exceptions created during the 2020 offseason and 2020/21 season will need to be updated once the NBA finalizes its mapping table for the 2021/22 league year.
List updated 3/29/21
Boston Celtics
Amount: $343,873
Obtained: Vincent Poirier (Thunder)
Initial amount: $2,505,793
Used: Moritz Wagner ($2,161,920)
Expires: 11/19/21
Amount: $4,767,000
Obtained: Enes Kanter (Trail Blazers)
Expires: 11/22/21
Amount: $11,050,000
Obtained: Gordon Hayward (Hornets)
Initial amount: $28,500,000
Used: Evan Fournier ($17,450,000)
Expires: 11/29/21
Amount: $5,000,000
Obtained: Daniel Theis (Bulls)
Expires: 3/25/22
Amount: $1,620,564
Obtained: Jeff Teague (Magic)
Expires: 3/25/22
Chicago Bulls
Amount: $2,489,239
Obtained: Otto Porter (Magic)
Expires: 3/25/22
Cleveland Cavaliers
Amount: $1,717,981
Obtained: Kevin Porter Jr. (Rockets)
Expires: 1/24/22
Amount: $4,200,000
Obtained: JaVale McGee (Nuggets)
Expires: 3/25/22
Dallas Mavericks
Amount: $1,678,854
Obtained: Wesley Iwundu (Pelicans)
Expires: 3/25/22
Denver Nuggets
Amount: $5,325,000
Obtained: Jerami Grant (Pistons)
Initial amount: $9,525,000
Used: JaVale McGee ($4,200,000)
Expires: 11/22/21
Amount: $2,193,480
Obtained: R.J. Hampton (Magic)
Expires: 3/25/22
Amount: $1,620,564
Obtained: Isaiah Hartenstein (Cavaliers)
Expires: 3/25/22
Detroit Pistons
Amount: $1,996,249
Obtained: Derrick Rose (Knicks)
Expires: 2/8/22
Golden State Warriors
Amount: $2,250,000
Obtained: Brad Wanamaker (Hornets)
Expires: 3/25/22
Amount: $1,824,003
Obtained: Marquese Chriss (Spurs)
Expires: 3/25/22
Houston Rockets
Amount: $2,174,318
Obtained: Austin Rivers (Knicks)
Expires: 11/29/21
Amount: $103,894
Obtained: Russell Westbrook (Wizards)
Expires: 12/2/21
Amount: $5,019,920
Obtained: James Harden (Nets)
Initial amount: $10,654,920
Used: Avery Bradley ($5,635,000)
Expires: 1/17/22
Amount: $1,780,152
Obtained: Rodions Kurucs (Bucks)
Expires: 3/21/22
Amount: $8,180,351
Obtained: Victor Oladipo (Heat)
Expires: 3/25/22
Indiana Pacers
Amount: $2,808,844
Obtained: T.J. Leaf (Thunder)
Expires: 11/25/21
Amount: $4,796,296
Obtained: Victor Oladipo (Rockets)
Expires: 1/17/22
Los Angeles Clippers
Amount: $1,995,120
Obtained: Landry Shamet (Nets)
Expires: 11/19/21
Amount: $980,533
Obtained: Rodney McGruder (Pistons)
Expires: 11/19/21
Amount: $2,075,880
Obtained: Mfiondu Kabengele (Kings)
Expires: 3/22/22
Los Angeles Lakers
Amount: $674,408
Obtained: JaVale McGee (Cavaliers)
Expires: 11/23/21
Milwaukee Bucks
Amount: $1,620,564
Obtained: Torrey Craig (Suns)
Expires: 3/18/22
Amount: $4,886,515
Obtained: D.J. Augustin (Rockets)
Expires: 3/21/22
New Orleans Pelicans
Amount: $3,897,436
Obtained: Nicolo Melli (Mavericks)
Expires: 3/25/22
Oklahoma City Thunder
Amount: $908,960
Obtained: Chris Paul (Suns)
Initial amount: $6,681,482
Used: Zylan Cheatham ($1,445,697)
Used: T.J. Leaf ($4,326,825)
Expires: 11/16/21
Amount: $865,853
Obtained: Dennis Schröder (Lakers)
Expires: 11/18/21
Amount: $850,600
Obtained: Ricky Rubio (Timberwolves)
Expires: 11/22/21
Amount: $332,940
Obtained: Kelly Oubre (Warriors)
Initial amount: $14,375,000
Used: Darius Miller ($7,000,000)
Used: Tony Bradley ($3,542,060)
Used: Austin Rivers ($3,500,000)
Expires: 11/22/21
Amount: $27,528,088
Obtained: Steven Adams (Pelicans)
Expires: 11/24/21
Amount: $10,100,000
Obtained: Danilo Gallinari (Hawks)
Initial amount: $19,500,000
Used: Meyers Leonard ($9,400,000)
Expires: 11/24/21
Amount: $1,517,981
Obtained: Jalen Lecque (Pacers)
Expires: 11/25/21
Amount: $12,800,000
Obtained: Trevor Ariza (Heat)
Expires: 3/17/22
Amount: $9,590,602
Obtained: George Hill (Sixers)
Expires: 3/25/22
Orlando Magic
Amount: $4,272,060
Obtained: Al-Farouq Aminu (Bulls)
Expires: 3/25/22
Amount: $2,000,000
Obtained: Gary Clark (Nuggets)
Expires: 3/25/22
Amount: $17,150,000
Obtained: Evan Fournier (Celtics)
Expires: 3/25/22
Philadelphia 76ers
Amount: $35,989
Obtained: Josh Richardson (Mavericks)
Initial amount: $2,655,196
Used: Vincent Poirier ($2,619,207)
Expires: 11/18/21
Amount: $8,190,134
Obtained: Al Horford (Thunder)
Expires: 12/8/21
Phoenix Suns
Amount: $898,310
Obtained: Jalen Lecque (Thunder)
Expires: 11/16/21
Portland Trail Blazers
Amount: $1,737,145
Obtained: Mario Hezonja (Grizzlies)
Expires: 11/22/21
Amount: $661,655
Obtained: Trevor Ariza (Rockets)
Expires: 11/22/21
Amount: $1,663,861
Obtained: Gary Trent Jr. (Raptors)
Expires: 3/25/22
Sacramento Kings
Amount: $2,009,019
Obtained: Nemanja Bjelica (Heat)
Expires: 3/25/22
Amount: $3,600,000
Obtained: Cory Joseph (Pistons)
Expires: 3/25/22
Toronto Raptors
Amount: $1,517,981
Obtained: Terence Davis (Kings)
Expires: 3/25/22
Amount: $1,517,981
Obtained: Matt Thomas (Jazz)
Expires: 3/25/22
Utah Jazz
Amount: $2,024,079
Obtained: Tony Bradley (Pistons)
Initial amount: $3,542,060
Used: Matt Thomas ($1,517,981)
Expires: 11/22/21
Amount: $5,005,350
Obtained: Ed Davis (Knicks)
Expires: 11/23/21
Amount: $340,000
Obtained: Rayjon Tucker (Cavaliers)
Expires: 11/29/21
Washington Wizards
Amount: $1,000,000
Obtained: Admiral Schofield (Thunder)
Expires: 11/19/21
Amount: $2,161,920
Obtained: Moritz Wagner (Celtics)
Expires: 3/25/22
Information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this list.
Basketball Insiders has the Bulls with a $1,074,720 trade exception for Marquis Teague. Not a huge difference but it makes their exception at least usable…
Yeah, I checked around, and it looks like that’s indeed the amount. There are some differences among the different reputable sites on some of these, but it seems they’re in agreement here. Thanks!
–Chuck
I think the Kings’ TPE for Thomas was reduced by $3m from the Terry/Gee trade. Or did they use a different exception to absorb Gee?
It sure was, thanks for the catch! I’d thought they’d matched salaries in that trade, but instead they put Gee into the Thomas exception and Hopson into the Thornton exception, allowing them to create an exception equivalent to Jason Terry’s salary.
–Chuck
Read on Twitter Knicks no longer have exceptions because they got under the cap. Can you clarify, reading this list makes me think otherwise.
They will almost certainly cease to have their trade exceptions soon after the July Moratorium, but for now, since there’s not yet a known cap figure to go under, and since they haven’t renounced any of their cap holds nor any of these exceptions, they technically still have them. Hope this helps!
They have them from Melo trade (2.3 or so) and WH trade (1.4 or so). They’ll last until the 1 year anniversaries of those deals. Using cap space will vitiate all exceptions (not just the TPEs). But merely having it does not, although that’s largely irrelevant because IF a team is otherwise under the “cap” (after renouncing cap holds) then “cap space” is computed after deducting all FA exceptions (MLE, BAE, TPEs and DPEs) available to that team, similar to deducting “cap holds” to the point renounced. So, any team under the cap after un-renounced cap holds can elect to use cap space (by renouncing those exceptions) or operating over the cap and use those exceptions. It’s a choice. Traditionally, unless you had substantial cap space in excess of the MLE, you would use the MLE and keep the other exceptions like TPEs, and, as important your cap holds, in place (the latter last forever until renounced).
Can you explain how the trade exception for Markieff Morris came to be? It appears the trade for him with WAS was a simultaneous trade from both directions, and I thought trade exceptions could only be created with non-simultaneous trades?
You can gain a trade exception worth a player’s partial salary if you don’t aggregate that salary with anyone else’s. The salaries for Humphries and Blair added up to $1.56MM less than the Morris salary, allowing the exception for the difference.
I know it’s because of the rising cap, but this has to be an all-time low for trade exceptions, right? It’s pretty much just the Cavs, and only Varejao’s is of any real significance.
Yeah, I’m not sure of the exact numbers, and I don’t know if there’s a way to go back and find out, but this is definitely the fewest TPEs I can recall seeing at a given time since Hoops Rumors launched (and probably well before that).
OKC should have a TPE for Paul George worth about 10.4 million, probably used the Melo TPE to absorb SGA.
Memphis used the Davis TPE to take Melton and should have one for Jevon Carter.
The Carter one is there, and I haven’t updated yet since the George trade went official today, so the OKC list will be adjusted soon. Had forgotten that Melton wasn’t at the minimum last year though, so good call on that.
I thought the JaVale McGee TPE should be slightly larger: 4.2 – 1.76 (McKinnie guaranteed) – 0.58 (Bell’s partial guarantee before he gets cut) = 1.86M. The figure above assumes that Bell was fully guaranteed.
I also wonder why the Blazers didn’t guarantee only the portion of the Ariza contract that was necessary to match RoCo’s salary. That would have given the Rockets a TPE for RoCo, then they could guarantee the rest and trade Ariza to Detroit.
Non-guaranteed and partially guaranteed salaries like Bell’s only count for the guaranteed amount for the team trading him, but the team acquiring him has to account for the full amount.
So for Cleveland he would’ve counted as $580K in outgoing salary, but the Lakers had to consider him a full $1.76MM player for trade purposes (obviously they won’t pay him that full amount).
According to Bobby Marks, the Thunder used the Gallinari TPE to absorb Leonard, which reduces it to 10.1M. They also created 12.8M for Ariza.
Speaking of the Thunder: they, the Warriors, and Wolves all have smaller TPEs on this list that have expired.
Thanks — it’s all up to date now.