Cash Sent, Received In NBA Trades For 2019/20

During each NBA league year, teams face limits on the amount of cash they can send out and receive in trades. Once they reach those limits, they’re no longer permitted to include cash in a deal until the following league year.

For the 2019/20 NBA season, the limit is $5,617,000. If a team is including cash in a deal, the minimum amount required is $110,000.

The limits on sending and receiving cash are separate and aren’t dependent on one another, so if a team sends out $5,617,000 in one trade, then receives $5,617,000 in another, they aren’t back to square one — they’ve reached both limits for the season and can’t make another deal that includes cash.

Adding cash to a deal can serve multiple purposes. It can be a sweetener to encourage a team to make a deal in the first place, like when the Timberwolves acquired Shabazz Napier and Treveon Graham from the Warriors. The Wolves were doing the hard-capped Dubs a favor by taking those unwanted contracts and the fact that Golden State had to include $3.6MM in cash along with Napier and Graham, essentially covering their salaries, reflected that.

Cash can also be a necessity to meet CBA requirements. This was the case in the three-team trade involving the Pacers, Suns, and Heat that sent T.J. Warren to Indiana and second-round pick KZ Okpala to Miami. Phoenix needed to receive something in the deal, so the Pacers sent $1.1MM in cash to the Suns, the minimum amount necessary to meet the “touching” requirement in a three-way deal.

We’ll use the space below to track each team’s cash sent and received in trades for the 2019/20 season, updating the info as necessary leading up to the 2020 trade deadline and for the first part of the 2020 offseason next June. These totals will reset once the calendar turns to July 2020 and the ’20/21 league year begins.


Atlanta Hawks

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $2,543,629

Boston Celtics

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Brooklyn Nets

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Charlotte Hornets

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Chicago Bulls

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Dallas Mavericks

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $4,817,000

Denver Nuggets

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Detroit Pistons

  • Cash available to send: $3,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Golden State Warriors

  • Cash available to send: $17,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Houston Rockets

  • Cash available to send: $4,617,000
    • Sent a conditional $1,000,000 to Thunder. *
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Indiana Pacers

  • Cash available to send: $4,517,000
    • Sent $1,100,000 to Suns.
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Los Angeles Clippers

  • Cash available to send: $4,193,424
    • Sent $110,000 to Heat.
    • Sent $1,313,576 to Hawks.
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Los Angeles Lakers

  • Cash available to send: $4,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Memphis Grizzlies

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $3,617,000

Miami Heat

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,507,000

Milwaukee Bucks

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $2,017,000

New Orleans Pelicans

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $3,517,000
    • Received $1,100,000 from Wizards.
    • Received $1,000,000 from Lakers.

New York Knicks

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Oklahoma City Thunder

  • Cash available to send: $4,817,000
  • Cash available to receive: $4,617,000
    • Received a conditional $1,000,000 from Rockets. *

Orlando Magic

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Philadelphia 76ers

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $3,617,000
    • Received $2,000,000 from Pistons.

Phoenix Suns

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $4,517,000
    • Received $1,100,000 from Pacers.

Portland Trail Blazers

  • Cash available to send: $3,857,205
    • Sent $1,759,795 to Hawks.
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Sacramento Kings

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

San Antonio Spurs

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Toronto Raptors

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Utah Jazz

  • Cash available to send: $5,617,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

Washington Wizards

  • Cash available to send: $4,517,000
  • Cash available to receive: $5,617,000

* Note: The Rockets owe the Thunder a 2026 first-round pick (top-four protected). If that pick is protected and not conveyed in 2026, the Rockets would instead owe the Thunder $1MM in cash along with their ’26 second-round pick.

Information from Basketball Insiders and various media reports was used in the creation of this post.

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