Deadline day is approaching.
February 5 at 3PM(ET) is when pens and pencils have to be down and teams can no longer make transactions with one another. The buyout market will be open but the trade market will be closed.
Since the core four was formed, President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman has gone through three trade deadlines. He's made just one deadline trade over that time period -- the De'Andre Hunter move last deadline. Prior to the core four, Altman had made a trade by the trade deadline every year he had been the decision maker.
Before the core four, Altman was in talent and asset acquisition mode. With the core four, he's been in tweaking and asset management mode.
While some may be pressing for larger changes, those changes will likely come in the offseason. Never say never but making a move that would fundamentally change the team is hard; doing so midseason is harder; doing so midseason while in the second apron with championship aspirations is the without a doubt the hardest.
The Dallas Mavericks are the most recent example of significantly shifting their roster and making a Finals run. An example that is closer to home is when Danny Ferry took part in an 11-player trade that brought Ben Wallace, Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and Joe Smith to Cleveland. Those are outliers, not the norm, for teams looking to make a deep run that enter the season with high hopes.
And ultimately, the Cavs decisions on the core four may ultimately make or break their chances. Postseason success, four postseasons in, will either validate the core or require changes. Donovan Mitchell's player option looming will be the key pivot point for what chapter they enter into next. Jarrett Allen's extension kicks in, De'Andre Hunter and Max Strus are expirings, and Darius Garland is extension eligible this offseason. The apron era does not afford patience and requires quicker decisions on how teams change and evolve.
For now, the Cavs are in the second apron. How the Cavs elect to handle that will be the key pivot point this season. On top of $228M in team salaries, Governor Dan Gilbert will be on the hook for nearly $164M in projected luxury tax/apron penalties. That means Gilbert is committed to this team to the tune of almost $400M this year alone ($392M to be exact).
The season to date has been anything but smooth. Coming into the year, the trade deadline was likely viewed as an opportunity to possibly tweak some things and continue loading up for a Finals run. Now, they've left enough of a door open for them to consider other questions. Do they consider buying down their tax liability? Do they get ahead of the curve and look for bird rights to sign a player this offseason they wouldn't otherwise be able to sign? Do they find someone that could replace pending free agents? Do they make bigger changes given the inconsistency within the core?
The uncertainty in play this year has created more uncertainty at the deadline.
But lucky for you, there's one thing that's certain: Having the information needed to approach the deadline with a strong knowledge base.
Key Terms
There's a lot of terms thrown around in today's apron era, and here's a quick refresher in what they all mean.
APRONS – Spending thresholds which come with varying levels of transactional restrictions and penalties.
1st Apron - $195,945,000
2nd Apron - $207,824,000
Each apron comes with a set of penalties that teams face when entering them or operating within them. Spotrac’s Keith Smith has the best chart for understanding them all in one place.
Excuse some of the numbers that may be slightly outdated, but all of the transactional limitations and trigger points remain the same and this chart is a good look at what can/can't happen within each.
There's an important caveat as it pertains to aprons and transactional restrictions -- they are POST TRANSACTIONAL. So apron restrictions are not based on what apron a team starts in (see, aggregation) but based on what apron a team is left in at the conclusion of the proposed transaction.
For example: Aggregation is prohibited in the 2nd Apron. But if a team aggregates and gets out of the 2nd Apron as a result the transaction, then it is legal because apron restrictions are post transactional.
HARD CAP – A spending limit that a team cannot exceed for any reason.
The NBA has a soft and hard cap, but certain transactions enact a hard cap. The NBA allows teams to be fluid throughout the various spending thresholds but that changes if they execute a specific type of transaction.
Example: A team in the 1st Apron that aggregates salaries in a trade becomes hard capped at the 2nd Apron threshold meaning they cannot, under any circumstance, exceed the 2nd Apron amount.
As the Cavs work to navigate the apron situation, keep in mind which transactions enact this hard cap – while one move may be compliant, it may also set up a whole other set of issues that prevent the initial move from actually being viable or require additional transaction to be fully compliant at the very end.
AGGREGATION – Combining two or more outgoing salaries to match incoming player(s) for the purposes of complying with the salary matching trade rules.
This is a big one. One of the most onerous restrictions that a 2nd Apron team faces is they cannot aggregate salaries via trade (but remember, post transactional).
Example: If the Cavs wanted to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo they would need to aggregate salaries to match his salary since no Cavalier player makes $54.1M. By combining Darius Garland ($39.4M) and Jarrett Allen ($20M) they send out more money than they are bringing in but are doing so by aggregating salaries which is a no-no.
While the Cavs can take in multiple player salaries if they send out one player’s salary, they cannot combine two players’ outgoing salaries to match one or more incoming salaries. Said otherwise: Incoming player(s) cannot make more than an outgoing player, and outgoing players cannot be combined to match a salary/salaries.
Now on the note from before, aggregation is post-transactional. So they can aggregate salaries, they would just have to end the deal in the 1st Apron.
Example: Using Giannis again ($54.1M), they could send Evan Mobley ($46.3M) and De'Andre Hunter ($23.3M) to Milwaukee and Lonzo Ball ($10M) to Utah, with pieces and parts for matching purposes. Because the aggregation of salaries ($79.6M total) to afford Giannis ($54.1M) also was enough to get them under the 2nd Apron (79.6-54.1=25.5 which is $3.5M under the 2nd Apron, this trade is legal).
TRADE EXCEPTION – A salary credit that allows teams to bring in an incoming player (or players) for up to the credited amount. These trade exceptions expire a year from when they were created.
There are a multitude of different trade exceptions but for the case of the Cavs, there’s two to be mindful of.
Traded Player Exception – The Cavs created a $8.5M exception in the Georges Niang trade last year, and a $1M exception in the Isaac Okoro trade this past off-season. They have until February 6, 2026 to use the Niang one and have until July 6, 2026 for the Okoro one. However, 1st and 2nd Apron teams cannot use previously created trade exceptions so the chances of them using either is next to nil.
Minimum Salary Exception – This comes into play for aggregation and salary trade matching. In short, the Cavs can absorb a veteran minimum player into this exception without it counting against salary matching or aggregation rules.
Example: If the Cavs wanted to trade Dean Wade ($6.6M) to Toronto for Ochai Agbaji ($6.3M) and Sandro Mamukelashvili ($2.4M) it would be illegal due to the Cavs being a 2nd Apron team and taking back more money ($6.6M outgoing with $7.6M incoming) then they’re sending out. However, since Mamukelashvili is on a minimum deal it could slide into the minimum salary exception and his salary would not be counted for the trade matching rules therefore making it a viable trade for the Cavs since Agbaji makes less than Wade.
While 2nd Apron teams cannot use their own trade exceptions to acquire players they are allowed to send players into trade exceptions that other teams hold so long as it complies with the other team's apron status. Trade exceptions do count as outgoing salary but the receiving team can absorb a contract (for salary matching reasons) without sending an actual contract out.
The other nuance of this rule is that apron and trade exception rule is that apron teams can use newly created trade exceptions. So if the Cavs created a trade exception this year, they could use it for a trade by the trade deadline if they wanted to. Think of traded player exceptions like a gift card. They hold value for a specific period of time and you can use the remaining value if you don't use the value all in one transaction.
Example: If the Cavs sent Lonzo Ball (and likely some sort of asset like pick(s) or overseas player(s)) to Brooklyn or Utah into their cap space, without any salary coming back, the Cavs would create a $10M Traded Player Exception that would expire one year from the transaction date and allow them to use $10M however they want in however many transactions it takes to use up the $10M.
TRADE KICKER – A financial bonus that a player is eligible to receive upon being traded.
Why is this important? Darius Garland and Evan Mobley have trade kickers.
Both are eligible to receive a 15% trade kicker if traded. Trade kickers are paid by the team trading the player but count for salary matching purposes for the team acquiring the player.
A kicker is a percentage (so, 15% for Mobley and Garland) of the remaining guaranteed money left on a player’s deal and is spread out over the remaining years for trade matching purposes. However, a player cannot receive his full trade kicker if it would take him over his maximum allowable salary.
Example: If traded, Garland has $87,053,440 million of guaranteed money remaining on his deal plus a prorated amount of salary this year and thus would be eligible for a $16 million trade kicker if traded ($87,053,400 + half of current salary for estimates). With 2.5 years left, it would be spread over the remaining years for salary matching meaning Garland would technically be accounting for ~46 million in outgoing trades this offseason (and not his $39,446,090 current cap number). But remember: A trade kicker cannot take a player over his maximum salary amount. Garland signed an extension via the Designated Player Extension which provides him a maximum salary of 25% of the salary cap. Garland’s $39,446,090 cap hit in 2025-2026 is already over 25% (per his Designated Player Extension) of the 2025-2026 salary cap of $38.6M, so the trade kicker would be voided.
Yes, a whole lot to talk about something that likely won't come into play at the deadline but just something to be mindful of should it get brought up. Other players have trade kickers too, so it could come into play for acquiring a player.
A player can either waive or amend his trade kicker. Jimmy Butler and Anthony Davis both waived their trade kickers when traded. Zach LaVine and Kyle Kuzma both previously amended theirs.
INCENTIVES – Bonuses awarded to players based on certain performance metrics. There are two types Likely To Be Earned (LTBE) and Unlikely To Be Earned (ULTBE).
An incentive is based on whether a player hit the incentive the prior year. Likely incentives are counted towards the salary cap hit for that season. Unlikely are not counted towards the cap hit or in trades for salary matching BUT are counted towards apron calculations.
So why is this important? As the Cavs consider different trade scenarios, both in sending out salary or taking in salary, they must factor in incentives in apron calculations to which their moves must be compliant by.
The caveat within that is the Cavs can take on unlikely to be earned incentives if it pushes them further into the 2nd Apron. But if they duck the 2nd Apron, operate as a 1st Apron team, and make a move that hard caps them at the 2nd Apron, then acquiring a player with unlikely to be earned incentives cannot push them over the 2nd Apron.
The Cavs have one player with unlikely to be earned incentives: De’Andre Hunter.
Hunter - $1,250,000 in ULTBE ($1M if he wins DPOY, $250k if he plays in >= 70 regular season games + wins Finals)
In the case of Hunter: You can see why they are labeled ULTBE incentives although the $250k could be an earned incentive if everything goes right.
TWO-WAY CONTRACT – A contract for a player with fewer than four years NBA experience. A contract can be for one or two years and can’t include an option (team or player). Each NBA team has three slots that does not count against the roster total or team’s salary cap. A player can’t spend more than three total seasons on a two-way contract with the same team. Two-way deals allow for a player to play in both G-League and NBA games (but active for no more than 50 games) and is protected from another team signing them away to an active roster. But, two-way players are not playoff eligible. Two-way players can be traded. Two-way contracts are fluid throughout the year and can be changed out although they cannot be signed past March 4.
The Cavs currently have Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Luke Travers and Chris Livingston occupying their two-way slots.
This is Livingston's third NBA season but first with the Cavs on a two-way. Next year is the last year he can spend on a two-way.
This is Travers second NBA season and second with the Cavs. Next year is the last year he can spend with the Cavs on a two-way.
This is Tomlin's second NBA season and second with the Cavs. Next year is the last year he can spend with the Cavs on a two-way.
The Cavs are currently in a bind with Tomlin if they want him to get post All-Star break minutes along with playoff minutes. Right now he is not playoff eligible unless they convert him to a standard contract and if he plays in every game up to the trade deadline, he could only play in 9 regular season games the rest of the season.
A staple of the Altman era has been converting two-way players to non-guaranteed multi-year deals. He's done it with Sam Merrill, Lamar Stevens, Craig Porter Jr and Dean Wade, and Tomlin is likely next. He's also done it with Alfonzo McKinnie and Patrick McCaw before the two-way but signed a multi-year deal to take a flyer on a player at a low cost deal but also in a low risk environment.
BIRD RIGHTS – A provision that allows teams to go over the salary cap to resign their own player. The flexibility in exceeding the cap does vary depending on the length of time a player spends with the team. But all cap rules must be followed (i.e. Bird Rights do not supersede hard caps).
Non-Bird Rights (Larry Nance Jr, Thomas Bryant) – Earned after 1 year and has following restrictions:
- Contract must be between 1-4 years in length
- Maximum annual raises of 5%
- 1st year salary can be up to 120% of the previous year’s salary or 120% of the minimum player salary for the season
- Contract must be between 2-4 years in length
- Options can only be in year 3 or 4
- Maximum annual raises of 8%
- 1st year salary maximum is either 175% of the player’s salary in the previous season or 105% of the league average salary for the season
- Contract must be between 1-5 years in length
- Maximum annual raises of 8%
- 1st year salary can be up to 25% of the salary cap due to 6 or less years of service
LUXURY TAX PENALTIES – The more a team spends over the salary cap, the more the team is financially taxed. The taxed amount is the difference between the team salary excluding any cap holds, and the luxury tax limit. The luxury tax penalty is calculated on the last day of the regular season (effectively making the trade deadline the last time a team can lower their luxury tax liability). The new CBA instituted tax brackets that increased the penalties by defined thresholds. There are adjacent transactional penalties the more time spent in the luxury tax but each year there's a bottom line financial penalty to the ownership group.
Here are the tax thresholds for this year:
As it currently stands, the Cavs are projected to be $40.6M into the luxury tax which would equal a tax bill of $163.7M.
The repeater tax is a team who has been in the luxury tax for three out of four seasons where the first season is counted when they end that season in the tax.
The Cavs were not a tax team last year so if they are a tax team this year, the repeater clock begins. If they are a tax team in at least two of the following three years after this year, then the repeater status would be confirmed.
There are also more punitive penalties for 2nd Apron teams as it relates to draft picks.
If the Cavs end the 2025-2026 season in the 2nd Apron, their 2033 draft pick (or 7 years out as the rule states) would be frozen – it cannot be traded. If a team is in the 2nd Apron for two of the following four seasons, that pick would be automatically moved to the end of the 1st Round (30th overall). The only way to unfreeze the pick is when it becomes mathematically impossible to hit three 2nd Apron years within a five year span. So, if the Cavs end this year in the 2nd Apron, the only way to unfreeze their 2033 pick would be out of the 2nd Apron at least three of the next four years.
Why is this important? The Cavs are already limited in what picks they can trade from the Donovan Mitchell deal. Right now, the next 1st Round pick they could trade outright is their 2031 1st Round pick. However, if they stay in the 2nd Apron this season their 2033 pick is frozen which kicks in the Stepien Rule from the backend of their controlled draft assets.
The Stepien Rule, named after infamous Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien, prohibits teams from trading consecutive years draft picks. As of right now, the Cavs can trade their 2031 1st or 2032 1st Round picks. However, if they remain in the 2nd Apron they would be limited in only being able to trade their 2031 1st or 2032 1st due to the Stepien Rule since their 2033 1st Round pick would be frozen.
ROSTER LIMITS – A team is not allowed to carry more than 15 rostered players but must have a minimum of 14 rostered players (not counting two-way players). Teams can dip to 12 or 13 players for a limited period (for no more than 2 weeks at a time or more than 28 total days during the regular season).
Koby has preferred 14 player rosters to preserve flexibility especially with two-way slots providing extra support with an open roster slot. While he has kept the 14th roster slot open and filled it with buyouts in past years (Marcus Morris, Danny Green) he has also kept it open to reward two-way players such as Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens, and Craig Porter Jr with multi-year, non guaranteed deals. Based on now Nae'Qwan Tomlin has played, it's safe to say he is likely up next.
It’s important to note the roster limit with respect to the apron rules. As noted, some rules create a hard cap such are aggregating salary in the 1st Apron with a hard cap at the 2nd Apron. Roster limits are important because a hard cap cannot be exceeded and all rostered players, including unlikely to be earned incentives, must be accounted for in that limit.
Trades
There are several rules the Cavs and other teams must both follow while conducting trades in the apron era. The Cavs are currently in the 2nd Apron. These rules apply to the Cavs so long as they would remain in the 2nd Apron at the conclusion of any trade (remember - post transactional).
2nd Apron
- Cannot aggregate salaries
- Cannot take back an amount greater than they are sending out
- Cannot send out cash in a trade
- Cannot acquire a player using a traded player exception that was created in a previous season
- Can acquire more than one player in a trade (as long as Cavs are roster limit compliant)
- Can use trade exceptions created in a new trade
- Can complete simultaneous, but separate, trades
- Example: The Cavs could trade De'Andre Hunter and Dean Wade for Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht. Since Hachimura makes less than Hunter and Knecht makes less than Wade, this deal is essentially one deal but would functionally be completed as two separate deals because of the Cavs aggregation restrictions.
- Cannot take back an amount greater than they are sending out
- Cannot acquire a player using a traded player exception that was created in a previous season
- Can aggregate two or more outgoing salaries*
- Can use trade exceptions created from a trade from the current league year*
- Can send out cash in a trade*
As the Cavs 2nd Apron status is bandied about, there will be several scenarios suggested. One of which is dumping salary to a team that can accept it. That can be accomplished in one of three ways
- Taking back less money in a trade that is CBA and salary matching compliant
- Dumping salary into cap space (see Nets or Jazz)
- Trading a player into an exception
There's also cutting salary within the midst of a trade instead of outright dumping salary to dump salary. Take for instance if the Cavs were to swap De'Andre Hunter for Bobby Portis and Andre Jackson Jr, they would save $7.6M this year and $5.9M next year (if Jackson Jr is kept). That's the same type of threading the needle as Koby did last year where acquiring Hunter also meant ducking the luxury tax because of the finances they cut.
While the Cavs have to follow these apron rules, and so do other teams, not every team is in an apron. But, that doesn't mean there still aren't trade rules. Teams in the 1st and 2nd Apron cannot take back more money than they send out -- not a cent more. But, things lighten up for other teams.
For teams over the Salary Cap but under the 1st Apron
- For 1+ outgoing salaries up to $7.5M = Can take back up to 200% of that salary (plus $250K)
- For 1+ outgoing salaries between $7,500,001 and $29M = Can to take back up to that salary plus $7.5M
- For 1+ outgoing salaries $29M+ = Can take back up to 125% of that salary (plus $250K)
- Can acquire incoming salary up to the salary cap (projected to be $154.6M), plus $250K.
Signings
Trades aren't the only way the Cavs can add talent during or after the trade deadline -- they can also sign players. But as with anything, there are limits to who and for how much they can spend.
First, let's start with a buyout. A buyout is when a player and a team agree to a financial settlement in order to release the player from his contract and is then free to sign with any team. This often happens when players are shuffled via trades and the receiving team doesn't have interest in keeping the player. It can also happen when a disgruntled player is finally cut free from a team. It can also happen when a veteran player is looking to join a contender and has no interest in playing for a lottery bound team.
The key date to watch: March 1. A player must be released/bought out by March in order to be playoff eligible. A player doesn't have to sign with a new team by then, they just have to be out of their previous contract by then.
Koby has been active on the buyout market in previous years. He's signed Javonte Green, Marcus Morris and Danny Green the last three seasons, and all have played in the playoffs to some degree.
For the Cavs, there are restrictions on the buyout market. 1st and 2nd Apron teams cannot sign a player who made more than the non-taxpayer midlevel exception on their prior contract (or $14.1M and above). So if LeBron James is magically set free, the Cavs, or any 1st or 2nd Apron team, could not sign him this year. If you're wonder who that means the Cavs could sign if they were bought out, start at #136 (Obi Toppin) and work your way down: https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/players.html.
Being in the 2nd Apron, the Cavs cannot sign a player above the veteran minimum. So if a team has cap space and are competing with the Cavs for that buyout player, there is no way the Cavs could offer more money. Players salaries are also prorated by the veteran minimum divided by how many days are left in the season when they sign. While the Cavs are not hard capped, if they were or if another team was, then the prorated amount would have to fit under the hard cap.
Second, let's talk about 10-days. A 10-day contract is exactly what it sounds like -- a contract covering 10 days (including the signing day) that counts against the salary cap. Players can sign up to two 10-day contracts with the same team before they would have to sign a standard contract if they wanted to stick around. Koby previously signed Marcus Morris to a 10-day contract and then converted it to a standard rest-of-year deal after the 10-day expired.
A 10-day contract is prorated depending on years of service and is based off of the veteran minimum salary scale. Since the Cavs have an open roster spot, they can only sign two 10-day contract players at once. If they would have 15 rostered players, they could sign up to three 10-day contracts. 10-day contracts also can't be two-way contracts at the same time. They also can be signed up until the final 10 days of the regular season as they can't be signed after that and are not playoff eligible.
A 10-day contract could be used to get a quick look at a G-League talent. It could be a way to have temporary help when injuries occur. And it could be a way to reward young players impressing on the team's G-League team for a temporary call up, and salary bump up, with the big league team (Killian Hayes?).
Cavs Financials
Few notes on the Cavs financial position:
- Donovan Mitchell's player option looms large in 2027-2028. It creates a natural leverage point this offseason that gives Mitchell the power in choosing the next chapter. He can dangle the player option and say he won't return unless changes or made or won't return in general forcing the Cavs to consider moving him to recoup assets. That's what makes this year, this postseason run, so important.
- This is the first year of Evan Mobley's max contract kicking in.
- Darius Garland becomes extension eligible beginning next league. While the Cavs don't have to extend him yet, it too like Mitchell, creates a natural pivot point, albeit a little bit less urgent, regarding his future in Cleveland.
- Jarrett Allen's new contract extension kicks in next year thus the big jump in salary.
- Max Strus and De'Andre Hunter are both free agents in 2027-2028. It's safe to say both likely won't be on the roster in 2027-2028. If the Cavs win the championship this year and both are on the team, maybe the odds increase. But odds are if the Cavs are successful, they won't be able to keep everyone (as was seen with Ty Jerome), and Hunter and Strus would likely be too expensive to both keep on the roster as the core four gets more expensive. On the other end, as the Cavs continue to develop lower salaried rotation players (Tomlin, Tyson, Proctor, Porter Jr, etc.) it gives the Cavs flexibility to move on to enable financial flexibility without taking a big step back talent wise. That's why if a large salary is moved this deadline, there's a good chance it's Hunter or Strus as one will likely be moved between now and next deadline in order to recoup some assets before either were to walk.
- Hunter also has unlikely to be earned incentives that do not count against the cap but must be included in apron calculations. They would only count if incentives hit by year's end.
- Lonzo Ball will almost certainly not be back at a $10M salary next year. With Proctor and Porter Jr set to make ~$4.5M combined and Ball already seeing his minutes go to those two, and the Cavs in salary crunch, it's simply a luxury the Cavs cannot afford. So the Cavs have three options: Move Ball now to reduce their tax liability (could save them up to $60M this year), decline his team option in the offseason or pick up his team option and use it in a trade in the offseason as an expiring. All three lead towards Ball not being back on his current deal.
- Dean Wade is set to be a free agent and while Nae'Qwan Tomlin is being developed to take his place, there's a chance (depending on Wade's market) that Wade could still return because of what he means to this team. The Cavs are in the driver's seat since they can pay him whatever amount they want but since Wade will be an unrestricted free agent they do not have the ability to match any offers. The market for Wade will be interesting to see and if a team is willing to spend the NTMLE on him, it's not likely the Cavs can afford that. Now something similar to the deal he's on now? It's a possibility. But the Cavs inclination to spend likely hinges on this year's postseason success.
- Jaylon Tyson = bargain.
- Thomas Bryant and Larry Nance Jr are both set to be free agents and it's hard seeing both, if not either, back next year. They're likely looking at another veteran minimum type deal on the free agent market. The Cavs do have a hole at the backup center spot on the cap sheet next year so they could explore a reunion depending on how the season and offseason goes.
- Craig Porter Jr does have a team option on his deal. The Cavs could elect to decline it if they're not content with his development and want to save some money but the cost to backfill that roster spot would be around the same amount (see Bryant and Nance Jr). So given the financial crunch last year and Porter Jr can be a productive player, the chances are high the Cavs pick up that option and bring Porter Jr back at that rate.
- There's a good chance Tomlin sees his deal converted this year and is on a similar multi-year contract as Porter Jr is currently on. The Cavs will be able to keep Luke Travers and Chris Livingston on two-way contracts if they want to, and could convert their deals to a standard contract as well.
- In light grey text you can see the Cavs are still have the Ricky Rubio cap hit on their books this year and next.
- The big amount this year is the $22M the Cavs are over the 2nd Apron by. That is the amount they would need to clear in a deal to aggregate and/or get out of the 2nd Apron. Chances of that happening within a midseason trade are not likely. Not impossible but not likely.
- The Cavs apron liability decreases next year and could drop down to ~$7.3M with 10 rostered players (should they decline Ball's option and pick up Porter Jr's). Now, the Cavs do have a 1st Round pick which could be in the $3M range. It's also likely Tomlin is converted adding another salary. Add those two salaries and the Cavs go up to 12 rostered players and ~$12M over the 2nd Apron. They would still need to add at least two more rostered players ($2.3M is veteran minimum salary) to meet roster minimums. In total, that's still ~$17M over without any other moves. So essentially, declining Ball's option would help build out the other roster spots. Before people start to freak out just remember there's a lot to sort out in the offseason that the apron questions will be answered through. If Mitchell returns, the Cavs will continue to spend and the apron discussion will be secondary. If Mitchell does not return, the apron issue will likely be at the forefront as the Cavs try to increase financial flexibility and reset their apron clocks.
Cavs Assets
A few notes on the Cavs assets:- Remember: The Cavs cannot use their previously created trade exception because they are in the 2nd Apron. If they create a new one this year, they could use it immediately and would have one year from it's creation to use it. For now, expect both of those exceptions to expire without being used.
- The Cavs do not have access to any signing exceptions because they are in the 2nd Apron. The only way they would be able to utilize them is if they get into the 1st Apron. And even still, using either would hard cap the Cavs and they could not use the signing exception to exceed the hard cap. So if the Cavs want to use all of the taxpayer midlevel, they would need to be under the 2nd Apron by $5.6M.
- The Cavs pick equity is a bit tied up on both the front end and backend. They have a 1st round pick this year (which they can't traded) that will be the worst of the Spurs and Hawks picks do to pick swap rights. The first 1st Round pick they can trade outright is the 2031 or 2032 pick. The 2033 will likely be frozen with their 2nd Apron status. So while the Cavs have a 1st Round pick they can use in trades, they're likely to be very cautious with how they use it given it is so far out and they don't know what the future will hold roster size. It likely would take a tremendous upgrade with long-term potential for them to consider using it.
- The Cavs only have four 2nd Round picks between now and 2032, and only 3 after this year. That's not a lot. As long as the Cavs are in the 2nd Apron, they cannot send out cash in a trade so they can't buy a pick. Picks are usually used to grease the skids on salary dumps (aka Lonzo Ball) but given how few 2nd Round picks the Cavs have, it will be a conundrum in how they feel they would be best used. The 2026 pick could be used as a lower salary player to help ease their financial commitments being in the 2nd Apron next year but they can also be used for two-way slots. Expect them to guard these 2nd Round picks because of the high financial benefit it is to the Cavs being as expensive as they are.
- The two highest regarded draft-and-stashes are Khalifa Diop and Saliou Niang with Niang doing a little more of late while Diop not having developed quite like the Cavs had hoped. Either of these draft-and-stashes could be used in trades and do not count for salary matching purposes. If the Cavs are looking to attach assets without sending out pick equity, this could be a way to do it. The Cavs previously brought Luke Travers over on a two-way, so it's also a pathway for the Cavs to consider in filling out their roster next year.
- To note: The Cavs list of unsigned draft picks is a bit longer. It includes Arturas Gudaitis, Chukwudiebere Maduabum, Milan Macvan, Sergey Gladyr, Renaldas Seibutis, Ejiike Ugboaja and Edin Bavcic. If any of those players ever wanted to play in the NBA, the Cavs would have their rights. However, since none of these players are NBA players or even still playing, their draft rights can be used in a trade. In any transaction, there has to be some exchange of assets between two teams -- picks, players, draft rights or money. One reason a team keeps draft rights like these around is they can be used to complete a transaction when no financial or player value is being sent out.
Further Reading
Keith Smith at Spotrac, Yossi Gozlan at the Third Apron and Bobby Marks at ESPN will be your best friends for all cap compliance need-to-knows.
Spotrac has one of the best salary cap spreadsheets (and most accurate) next to Yossi’s.
SalarySwish also has a ton of helpful CBA related information in digestible formats along with navigable salary cap spreadsheets.
HoopsRumors is a great resource for breaking down the CBA as is Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ.
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