Trade Rules

[Sketcher]

Can anyone explain whether or not it's possible to simply trade a player to another team without receiving a matching player and salary in return. On Real GM (I think it's Rule 82) it says the maximum amount of cash that can be tendered in a trade is $3MM (which doesn't count in matching salaries). If for example some other team wanted Brad Miller and no matching deal could be made, could the Kings simply trade him and agree to pay 1/2 his salary, even though he'd be playing for the new team, allowing the Kings to use the other 1/2 of his salary to sign a free agent? The complexities of the trading rules are mindboggling but this scenario would allow teams much greater flexibility in structuring a deal. If another team could get Brad Miller for 1/2 his salary he would certainly be much more attractive, or Kenny Thomas or anyone else. What am I missing here?

 

[fnordius]

I think the closest you could get would be a buyout of Brad's contract at 50% of what's owed him, followed immediately by a sign-and-trade, with him signing at half of his old pay rate. With about $34M left on his contract, a $3M sweetener payment isn't going to get anyone very excited.

And, were something like that done, the $17M paid to him in the buyout would still count against our salary limits for the next 3 years. Unless we traded him for an ender, we couldn't legally free more than a little over million a year in payroll that way. (At half pay, his salary would be a little over $5M a year, we could trade him for a guy making as little as 75% of that, or $3.9M, for a savings of $1.3M/yr.)

If we got a really good player in trade, great, but none of these scenarios would get us out of payroll hell.

 

[VF21]

Can anyone explain whether or not it's possible to simply trade a player to another team without receiving a matching player and salary in return. On Real GM (I think it's Rule 82) it says the maximum amount of cash that can be tendered in a trade is $3MM (which doesn't count in matching salaries).

If you're talking item #82, I presume you're talking about the bible of NBA Salary Information, which is from Larry Coon.

http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm

As far as matching salaries go, it's part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement signed last year. Either salaries match - or come within a specified percentage - or the deal doesn't get made. There is actually a rule that forbids some trades:

87. Can teams find loopholes in the CBA and make trades that were never intended to be allowed?

The CBA has a general prohibition on circumvention which states that the rules exist to preserve the benefit derived by the teams and players, and that nobody shall do anything to defeat or circumvent the intent of the agreement. The league can use this prohibition to disallow a trade that they feel circumvents the CBA, even though that trade is not specifically prohibited by the agreement.

 

[AriesMar27]

well couldnt miller be traded to a team super under the cap like the bobcats? cant the bobcats absorb the remaining part of millers deal if they say trade a player that makes less than miller.... like a s&t wallace for miller... if they sign wallace for 8 mill a year... miller makes 11 couldnt the bobcats absorb the remaining 3 mill?

 

[Dime Dropper]

Yes, that scenario could happen but won't. The point is - it's possible.