In addition to receiving $99MM+ in cap room and being allowed to surpass that threshold in order to sign players using Bird Rights or the minimum salary exception, each NBA team also receives a mid-level exception. The value of this exception varies depending on a club’s total team salary.
A team that goes under the cap to use its available cap room, for instance, receives only a modest form of the MLE known as the room exception. An over-the-cap team receives the full mid-level exception, unless that team is also over the tax line, in which case it gets a taxpayer version of the MLE that falls in between the full MLE and the room exception. We detailed the exact values of each form of mid-level exception earlier this offseason, but here’s a quick breakdown:
- Room exception: Can be used for contracts up to two years, with a starting salary worth up to $4.328MM.
- Taxpayer mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to three years, with a starting salary worth up to $5.192MM.
- Full mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to four years, with a starting salary worth up to $8.406MM.
Now that a majority of the NBA’s teams have used up their cap space, it’s worth keeping an eye on which teams still have part or all of their mid-level exceptions available, which we’ll do in the space below. This list will be kept up to date throughout the year.
Here’s where things currently stand:
Mid-Level Exception:
Charlotte Hornets
- Available: $4,890,385
- Used: $2,700,000 (Michael Carter-Williams); $815,615 (Dwayne Bacon)
Chicago Bulls
- Available: $3,790,615
- Used: $4,615,385 (Justin Holiday)
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Available: $2,549,143 (taxpayer)
- Used: $2,642,857 (Cedi Osman)
Dallas Mavericks
- Available: $8,406,000
- Used: $0
Detroit Pistons
- Available: $0
- Used: $6,666,667 (Langston Galloway); $1,739,333 (Eric Moreland)
Golden State Warriors
- Available: $0 (taxpayer)
- Used: $5,192,000 (Nick Young)
Houston Rockets
- Available: $350
- Used: $7,590,035 (P.J. Tucker); $815,615 (Zhou Qi)
Los Angeles Clippers
- Available: $774,770
- Used: $6,000,000 (Milos Teodosic); $815,615 (Jawun Evans); $815,615 (Sindarius Thornwell)
Memphis Grizzlies
- Available: $490,385
- Used: $5,200,000 (Ben McLemore); $950,000 (Ivan Rabb); $950,000 (Rade Zagorac); $815,615 (Dillon Brooks)
Milwaukee Bucks
- Available: $7,590,385
- Used: $815,615 (Sterling Brown)
New Orleans Pelicans
- Available: $2,190,385
- Used: $3,300,000 (Rajon Rondo); $2,100,000 (Darius Miller); $815,615 (Frank Jackson)
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Available: $0 (taxpayer)
- Used: $5,192,000 (Patrick Patterson)
Portland Trail Blazers
- Available: $5,192,000 (taxpayer)
- Used: $0
San Antonio Spurs
- Available: $0
- Used: $8,406,000 (Rudy Gay)
Toronto Raptors
- Available: $469,491
- Used: $7,936,509 (C.J. Miles)
Washington Wizards
- Available: $1,902,000 (taxpayer)
- Used: $3,290,000 (Jodie Meeks)
Room Exception:
Atlanta Hawks
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Boston Celtics
- Available: $0
- Used: $4,328,000 (Aron Baynes)
Brooklyn Nets
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Denver Nuggets
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Indiana Pacers
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Los Angeles Lakers
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Miami Heat
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Available: $0
- Used: $4,328,000 (Jamal Crawford)
New York Knicks
- Available: $0
- Used: $4,328,000 (Ron Baker)
Orlando Magic
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Philadelphia 76ers
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Phoenix Suns
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Sacramento Kings
- Available: $4,328,000
- Used: $0
Utah Jazz
- Available: $1,128,000
- Used: $3,200,000 (Ekpe Udoh)
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post.
Well explained. However it’s easy to see why a few teams mess this up. Especially teams that have FO with poor communications.