What are the rules regarding trades?
Teams under the salary cap may make trades as they please, as long as they don’t end up more than $100,000 above the salary cap following a trade. But if a team is over the cap, or they are under the cap and a trade would take them more than $100,000 over the cap, then an exception is required. An exception is the mechanism that allows a team to make trades or sign free agents and be over the salary cap. Since teams are usually over the salary cap, trades are usually accomplished using exceptions. Some exceptions are available only for signing free agents, and those exceptions are covered in question number 19. The exceptions available for making trades are as follows: • The Traded Player exception is the principal means through which most trades are made. It is described in question numbers 68 and 69. • The Minimum Salary exception can be used for either trades or signing free agents. It allows teams to acquire minimum-salary players. See question number 70 for more information. • The
