Where are we with the "second apron"?

[Roy H.]

If Brad signs a couple of these guys now, trades them at the deadline (with cash and/or a 2nd), and then signs a couple of vets to pro-rated contracts midseason, would that help keep us under the 2nd apron or was there a change in the CBA that doesn't allow this anymore?

As long as we’re under the second apron we can do that. If we’re over, we can’t trade cash and can’t sign buyouts (but can sign other free agents) although it’s not clear to me if that restriction starts next year or this because of the phase-in.

I posted this in the Gabriel thread, but thought it was relevant here. C2021 obviously knows his stuff, so it looks like we could be over the apron, trade a player or two with a 2nd (no cash), and then sign a couple of FAs (Blake anyone?), but not buy-outs. We are so close to being under the 2nd apron - within a couple hundred thousand if we go into the season with 14 instead of 15. It would be odd if just say screw it and barely go over.

Some corrections:  the "no buyouts" clause applies to teams over the *first* apron, which we've left way in the dust.  Teams over the first apron wouldn't be allowed to sign players who were bought out that made more than the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception.  So, we'll have room to sign some guys making less than the full MLE.

The "no cash" thing doesn't apply until next season, and there are a bunch of other penalties next season, as well.

Next year's penalties:

1.  No sending cash in trades;

2.  We can't take back more than we send out in trades;

3.  We can't aggregate player salaries to match salary in a trade;

4.  We can't use the MLE or BAE;

5.  We can't use TPEs;

6.  We can't send out our own players in sign-and-trades.

7.  The pick freeze:

If a team is above the second apron as of the last day of the regular season, starting with the 2024-25 cap year (July 1, 2024), then its first-round pick seven years out cannot be traded. That’s called the frozen pick. If that team is also above the second apron in two of the ensuing four years, that frozen pick will also be moved to the end of the first round in that year. If more than one team has a frozen pick in a draft year, then they’ll draft in the reverse order of their finish in the standings in the season preceding that draft.

A team can unfreeze its pick if it is below or equal to the second-apron threshold in at least three of the next four years after it went over. It will then be allowed to be traded again, starting with the first day of the new salary-cap year after that third season not going over the second apron.

So if a team exceeds the second apron in the 2024-25 season, it means:

Their 2032 first-round pick (at least temporarily) cannot be traded.
It is unfrozen only if that team is at or under the second apron in at least three of the next four seasons. So the earliest they could trade their 2032 first-round pick is the day after the end of the 2027-28 regular season. (They could also gain the ability to trade it on July 1, 2029).
If they instead exceed the second apron in at least two of the ensuing four seasons, the 2032 pick moves to the bottom of the first round regardless of how they perform in the 2030-31 season, and it still cannot be traded.

https://theathletic.com/4607105/2023/06/28/nba-cba-new-rules/?access_token=6385178

Can someone clarify this regarding the TPE?  Based on the discussion, once we sign Wenyen Gabrial or some other min player, we are going to be over the second apron.  We could cut someone else and get back under it.  But what are the limitation on using the Grant TPE this season?

We can use it this season, regardless of our apron status.  The penalties I identified go into effect next season.

We can't use the MLE, but we weren't planning on using it anyway.

[Vermont Green]

We can use it this season, regardless of our apron status.  The penalties I identified go into effect next season.

We can't use the MLE, but we weren't planning on using it anyway.

OK, that is what I thought, or at least hoped.  I understand the MLE, using that essentially hard caps us but using the TPE this season, does not.  The TPE appears to be our main lifeline to add a big.  We have options to cut salary by waiving Banton or Stevens or Svi or even Kornet (although cutting Kornet would help with our big rotation).  So we have some options.

[jordb2k5]

If Brad signs a couple of these guys now, trades them at the deadline (with cash and/or a 2nd), and then signs a couple of vets to pro-rated contracts midseason, would that help keep us under the 2nd apron or was there a change in the CBA that doesn't allow this anymore?

As long as we’re under the second apron we can do that. If we’re over, we can’t trade cash and can’t sign buyouts (but can sign other free agents) although it’s not clear to me if that restriction starts next year or this because of the phase-in.

I posted this in the Gabriel thread, but thought it was relevant here. C2021 obviously knows his stuff, so it looks like we could be over the apron, trade a player or two with a 2nd (no cash), and then sign a couple of FAs (Blake anyone?), but not buy-outs. We are so close to being under the 2nd apron - within a couple hundred thousand if we go into the season with 14 instead of 15. It would be odd if just say screw it and barely go over.

Some corrections:  the "no buyouts" clause applies to teams over the *first* apron, which we've left way in the dust.  Teams over the first apron wouldn't be allowed to sign players who were bought out that made more than the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception.  So, we'll have room to sign some guys making less than the full MLE.

The "no cash" thing doesn't apply until next season, and there are a bunch of other penalties next season, as well.

Next year's penalties:

1.  No sending cash in trades;

2.  We can't take back more than we send out in trades;

3.  We can't aggregate player salaries to match salary in a trade;

4.  We can't use the MLE or BAE;

5.  We can't use TPEs;

6.  We can't send out our own players in sign-and-trades.

7.  The pick freeze:

If a team is above the second apron as of the last day of the regular season, starting with the 2024-25 cap year (July 1, 2024), then its first-round pick seven years out cannot be traded. That’s called the frozen pick. If that team is also above the second apron in two of the ensuing four years, that frozen pick will also be moved to the end of the first round in that year. If more than one team has a frozen pick in a draft year, then they’ll draft in the reverse order of their finish in the standings in the season preceding that draft.

A team can unfreeze its pick if it is below or equal to the second-apron threshold in at least three of the next four years after it went over. It will then be allowed to be traded again, starting with the first day of the new salary-cap year after that third season not going over the second apron.

So if a team exceeds the second apron in the 2024-25 season, it means:

Their 2032 first-round pick (at least temporarily) cannot be traded.
It is unfrozen only if that team is at or under the second apron in at least three of the next four seasons. So the earliest they could trade their 2032 first-round pick is the day after the end of the 2027-28 regular season. (They could also gain the ability to trade it on July 1, 2029).
If they instead exceed the second apron in at least two of the ensuing four seasons, the 2032 pick moves to the bottom of the first round regardless of how they perform in the 2030-31 season, and it still cannot be traded.

https://theathletic.com/4607105/2023/06/28/nba-cba-new-rules/?access_token=6385178

Can someone clarify this regarding the TPE?  Based on the discussion, once we sign Wenyen Gabrial or some other min player, we are going to be over the second apron.  We could cut someone else and get back under it.  But what are the limitation on using the Grant TPE this season?

No restriction on using the TPE this season. We can use it but there's no way we get under the second apron then at that point. That may or may not matter. If we are going to be over we need to use it and use all assets at our disposal.

[kraidstar]

If Brad signs a couple of these guys now, trades them at the deadline (with cash and/or a 2nd), and then signs a couple of vets to pro-rated contracts midseason, would that help keep us under the 2nd apron or was there a change in the CBA that doesn't allow this anymore?

As long as we’re under the second apron we can do that. If we’re over, we can’t trade cash and can’t sign buyouts (but can sign other free agents) although it’s not clear to me if that restriction starts next year or this because of the phase-in.

I posted this in the Gabriel thread, but thought it was relevant here. C2021 obviously knows his stuff, so it looks like we could be over the apron, trade a player or two with a 2nd (no cash), and then sign a couple of FAs (Blake anyone?), but not buy-outs. We are so close to being under the 2nd apron - within a couple hundred thousand if we go into the season with 14 instead of 15. It would be odd if just say screw it and barely go over.

Some corrections:  the "no buyouts" clause applies to teams over the *first* apron, which we've left way in the dust.  Teams over the first apron wouldn't be allowed to sign players who were bought out that made more than the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception.  So, we'll have room to sign some guys making less than the full MLE.

The "no cash" thing doesn't apply until next season, and there are a bunch of other penalties next season, as well.

Next year's penalties:

1.  No sending cash in trades;

2.  We can't take back more than we send out in trades;

3.  We can't aggregate player salaries to match salary in a trade;

4.  We can't use the MLE or BAE;

5.  We can't use TPEs;

6.  We can't send out our own players in sign-and-trades.

7.  The pick freeze:

If a team is above the second apron as of the last day of the regular season, starting with the 2024-25 cap year (July 1, 2024), then its first-round pick seven years out cannot be traded. That’s called the frozen pick. If that team is also above the second apron in two of the ensuing four years, that frozen pick will also be moved to the end of the first round in that year. If more than one team has a frozen pick in a draft year, then they’ll draft in the reverse order of their finish in the standings in the season preceding that draft.

A team can unfreeze its pick if it is below or equal to the second-apron threshold in at least three of the next four years after it went over. It will then be allowed to be traded again, starting with the first day of the new salary-cap year after that third season not going over the second apron.

So if a team exceeds the second apron in the 2024-25 season, it means:

Their 2032 first-round pick (at least temporarily) cannot be traded.
It is unfrozen only if that team is at or under the second apron in at least three of the next four seasons. So the earliest they could trade their 2032 first-round pick is the day after the end of the 2027-28 regular season. (They could also gain the ability to trade it on July 1, 2029).
If they instead exceed the second apron in at least two of the ensuing four seasons, the 2032 pick moves to the bottom of the first round regardless of how they perform in the 2030-31 season, and it still cannot be traded.

https://theathletic.com/4607105/2023/06/28/nba-cba-new-rules/?access_token=6385178

Can someone clarify this regarding the TPE?  Based on the discussion, once we sign Wenyen Gabrial or some other min player, we are going to be over the second apron.  We could cut someone else and get back under it.  But what are the limitation on using the Grant TPE this season?

No restriction on using the TPE this season. We can use it but there's no way we get under the second apron then at that point. That may or may not matter. If we are going to be over we need to use it and use all assets at our disposal.

Yeah i think this is the logical conclusion if we're over the 2nd apron. It is time to splurge while we can,  both for depth and so that we have a variety of tradeable contracts down the line. The restriction on aggregating multiple salaries for trades is going to be tricky to navigate.

[jordb2k5]

If Brad signs a couple of these guys now, trades them at the deadline (with cash and/or a 2nd), and then signs a couple of vets to pro-rated contracts midseason, would that help keep us under the 2nd apron or was there a change in the CBA that doesn't allow this anymore?

As long as we’re under the second apron we can do that. If we’re over, we can’t trade cash and can’t sign buyouts (but can sign other free agents) although it’s not clear to me if that restriction starts next year or this because of the phase-in.

I posted this in the Gabriel thread, but thought it was relevant here. C2021 obviously knows his stuff, so it looks like we could be over the apron, trade a player or two with a 2nd (no cash), and then sign a couple of FAs (Blake anyone?), but not buy-outs. We are so close to being under the 2nd apron - within a couple hundred thousand if we go into the season with 14 instead of 15. It would be odd if just say screw it and barely go over.

Some corrections:  the "no buyouts" clause applies to teams over the *first* apron, which we've left way in the dust.  Teams over the first apron wouldn't be allowed to sign players who were bought out that made more than the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception.  So, we'll have room to sign some guys making less than the full MLE.

The "no cash" thing doesn't apply until next season, and there are a bunch of other penalties next season, as well.

Next year's penalties:

1.  No sending cash in trades;

2.  We can't take back more than we send out in trades;

3.  We can't aggregate player salaries to match salary in a trade;

4.  We can't use the MLE or BAE;

5.  We can't use TPEs;

6.  We can't send out our own players in sign-and-trades.

7.  The pick freeze:

If a team is above the second apron as of the last day of the regular season, starting with the 2024-25 cap year (July 1, 2024), then its first-round pick seven years out cannot be traded. That’s called the frozen pick. If that team is also above the second apron in two of the ensuing four years, that frozen pick will also be moved to the end of the first round in that year. If more than one team has a frozen pick in a draft year, then they’ll draft in the reverse order of their finish in the standings in the season preceding that draft.

A team can unfreeze its pick if it is below or equal to the second-apron threshold in at least three of the next four years after it went over. It will then be allowed to be traded again, starting with the first day of the new salary-cap year after that third season not going over the second apron.

So if a team exceeds the second apron in the 2024-25 season, it means:

Their 2032 first-round pick (at least temporarily) cannot be traded.
It is unfrozen only if that team is at or under the second apron in at least three of the next four seasons. So the earliest they could trade their 2032 first-round pick is the day after the end of the 2027-28 regular season. (They could also gain the ability to trade it on July 1, 2029).
If they instead exceed the second apron in at least two of the ensuing four seasons, the 2032 pick moves to the bottom of the first round regardless of how they perform in the 2030-31 season, and it still cannot be traded.

https://theathletic.com/4607105/2023/06/28/nba-cba-new-rules/?access_token=6385178

Can someone clarify this regarding the TPE?  Based on the discussion, once we sign Wenyen Gabrial or some other min player, we are going to be over the second apron.  We could cut someone else and get back under it.  But what are the limitation on using the Grant TPE this season?

No restriction on using the TPE this season. We can use it but there's no way we get under the second apron then at that point. That may or may not matter. If we are going to be over we need to use it and use all assets at our disposal.

Yeah i think this is the logical conclusion if we're over the 2nd apron. It is time to splurge while we can,  both for depth and so that we have a variety of tradeable contracts down the line. The restriction on aggregating multiple salaries for trades is going to be tricky to navigate.

I referenced it above but to me we will have to get creative with extensions. Pritchard and I believe Kornet will have bird rights. Wouldn't shock me at all if we see some unusual deals there due to this aspect. I don't know, hard to say. I'd love to just win the title this year and then I don't think about it anymore

[ozgod]

For anyone curious, here's what Phoenix and GS's salary caps look like in comparison to ours:



Phoenix are in a similar situation to use...their total cap allocation is $198.1m, which includes $9.7m of cap holds (Biyombo, Ross, Warren, Lundberg, Lee). If you take those off on the assumption those players will either be renounced or will find new homes, they are at $188.4m, which is still $5.6m over the 2nd apron. Getting rid of their nonguaranteed contracts brings them closer to the 2nd apron at $1.8m over. They currently have 17 players on their roster, so even getting rid of the 2 nonguaranteeds they would stlll have to renounce one player, which should probably just get them just under it. So it shouldn't be too hard for them to tweak their roster.

Golden State are in a different situation...they have $172m of their total cap tied up in 5 players - Steph, Klay, CP3, Wiggins and Draymond. And they have a roster of 13 players before training camp invitees, so they will have some decisions to make but right now they are at $225m total cap allocations, and at $207m active roster allocations excluding cap holds. I'm not sure how they get under the 2nd apron without getting rid of one of the Big Five.

[ozgod]

Wyc is ok with going over the 2nd apron.

[Holiday] is also under contract for two more seasons, but Stevens said they will begin talking about an extension as soon as they are allowed. The deal put Boston over the salary cap's new "second apron" that comes with increased penalties for big-spending teams.

"We haven't blinked at all," said Grousbeck, who was part of the ownership committee that worked on the restrictions. "I'm aware of all that. We're going to be over the second apron and paying those penalties, and that's the way life is.

"It's designed so that we can have more competition. We're fine with competition," he said, "as long as we win."

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38568022/jrue-holiday-brings-electricity-first-celtics-practice

[BitterJim]

For anyone curious, here's what Phoenix and GS's salary caps look like in comparison to ours:



Phoenix are in a similar situation to use...their total cap allocation is $198.1m, which includes $9.7m of cap holds (Biyombo, Ross, Warren, Lundberg, Lee). If you take those off on the assumption those players will either be renounced or will find new homes, they are at $188.4m, which is still $5.6m over the 2nd apron. Getting rid of their nonguaranteed contracts brings them closer to the 2nd apron at $1.8m over. They currently have 17 players on their roster, so even getting rid of the 2 nonguaranteeds they would stlll have to renounce one player, which should probably just get them just under it. So it shouldn't be too hard for them to tweak their roster.

Golden State are in a different situation...they have $172m of their total cap tied up in 5 players - Steph, Klay, CP3, Wiggins and Draymond. And they have a roster of 13 players before training camp invitees, so they will have some decisions to make but right now they are at $225m total cap allocations, and at $207m active roster allocations excluding cap holds. I'm not sure how they get under the 2nd apron without getting rid of one of the Big Five.

Renouncing/waiving a guaranteed contract wouldn't clear the cap, they'll probably end up trading someone away with cash or a second round pick to get under the 2nd apron (traditionally those moves only involve cash to cover the full salary plus a bit, but soon that won't be an option since second apron teams can't trade cash. I guess we'll start to see 2nd rounders used in those deals instead, which is an interesting twist)

I also wouldn't include camp deals in any cap/tax estimates since they have ~0% chance of being on the roster at the end of the year (at the very least, I would ignore any that put teams over 14 or 15 players)

I'd love to see the total tax amounts they'll be paying, too, because it must be costing GSW like $75 million to have CP3 this year. He is so not worth that

[Roy H.]

Bobby Manning: Grousbeck: “We haven’t blinked at all (about spending)…we’re aware of the (second apron)…we’re going to be over.” 13 hours ago – via Twitter RealBobManning

[ozgod]

For anyone curious, here's what Phoenix and GS's salary caps look like in comparison to ours:



Phoenix are in a similar situation to use...their total cap allocation is $198.1m, which includes $9.7m of cap holds (Biyombo, Ross, Warren, Lundberg, Lee). If you take those off on the assumption those players will either be renounced or will find new homes, they are at $188.4m, which is still $5.6m over the 2nd apron. Getting rid of their nonguaranteed contracts brings them closer to the 2nd apron at $1.8m over. They currently have 17 players on their roster, so even getting rid of the 2 nonguaranteeds they would stlll have to renounce one player, which should probably just get them just under it. So it shouldn't be too hard for them to tweak their roster.

Golden State are in a different situation...they have $172m of their total cap tied up in 5 players - Steph, Klay, CP3, Wiggins and Draymond. And they have a roster of 13 players before training camp invitees, so they will have some decisions to make but right now they are at $225m total cap allocations, and at $207m active roster allocations excluding cap holds. I'm not sure how they get under the 2nd apron without getting rid of one of the Big Five.

Renouncing/waiving a guaranteed contract wouldn't clear the cap, they'll probably end up trading someone away with cash or a second round pick to get under the 2nd apron (traditionally those moves only involve cash to cover the full salary plus a bit, but soon that won't be an option since second apron teams can't trade cash. I guess we'll start to see 2nd rounders used in those deals instead, which is an interesting twist)

I also wouldn't include camp deals in any cap/tax estimates since they have ~0% chance of being on the roster at the end of the year (at the very least, I would ignore any that put teams over 14 or 15 players)

I'd love to see the total tax amounts they'll be paying, too, because it must be costing GSW like $75 million to have CP3 this year. He is so not worth that

Could you renounce and stretch their deal? I guess that would still be considered dead cap and part of the cap like Demetrious Jackson is with us.

[BitterJim]

For anyone curious, here's what Phoenix and GS's salary caps look like in comparison to ours:



Phoenix are in a similar situation to use...their total cap allocation is $198.1m, which includes $9.7m of cap holds (Biyombo, Ross, Warren, Lundberg, Lee). If you take those off on the assumption those players will either be renounced or will find new homes, they are at $188.4m, which is still $5.6m over the 2nd apron. Getting rid of their nonguaranteed contracts brings them closer to the 2nd apron at $1.8m over. They currently have 17 players on their roster, so even getting rid of the 2 nonguaranteeds they would stlll have to renounce one player, which should probably just get them just under it. So it shouldn't be too hard for them to tweak their roster.

Golden State are in a different situation...they have $172m of their total cap tied up in 5 players - Steph, Klay, CP3, Wiggins and Draymond. And they have a roster of 13 players before training camp invitees, so they will have some decisions to make but right now they are at $225m total cap allocations, and at $207m active roster allocations excluding cap holds. I'm not sure how they get under the 2nd apron without getting rid of one of the Big Five.

Renouncing/waiving a guaranteed contract wouldn't clear the cap, they'll probably end up trading someone away with cash or a second round pick to get under the 2nd apron (traditionally those moves only involve cash to cover the full salary plus a bit, but soon that won't be an option since second apron teams can't trade cash. I guess we'll start to see 2nd rounders used in those deals instead, which is an interesting twist)

I also wouldn't include camp deals in any cap/tax estimates since they have ~0% chance of being on the roster at the end of the year (at the very least, I would ignore any that put teams over 14 or 15 players)

I'd love to see the total tax amounts they'll be paying, too, because it must be costing GSW like $75 million to have CP3 this year. He is so not worth that

Could you renounce and stretch their deal? I guess that would still be considered dead cap and part of the cap like Demetrious Jackson is with us.

Yeah, but I'm not sure how much it would help. The stretch is over twice the remaining years plus one, so for a 1 year deal you're still paying 1/3rd of it this year. The Demetrius Jackson hold is pretty small because we only had to stretch the guaranteed portion instead of the whole thing (so it also gained us very little space that year).

If they're close enough then the stretch could be a good call, at the very least having the threat of just stretching him might make it easier to reach a deal with another team.

[Roy H.]

For anyone curious, here's what Phoenix and GS's salary caps look like in comparison to ours:



Phoenix are in a similar situation to use...their total cap allocation is $198.1m, which includes $9.7m of cap holds (Biyombo, Ross, Warren, Lundberg, Lee). If you take those off on the assumption those players will either be renounced or will find new homes, they are at $188.4m, which is still $5.6m over the 2nd apron. Getting rid of their nonguaranteed contracts brings them closer to the 2nd apron at $1.8m over. They currently have 17 players on their roster, so even getting rid of the 2 nonguaranteeds they would stlll have to renounce one player, which should probably just get them just under it. So it shouldn't be too hard for them to tweak their roster.

Golden State are in a different situation...they have $172m of their total cap tied up in 5 players - Steph, Klay, CP3, Wiggins and Draymond. And they have a roster of 13 players before training camp invitees, so they will have some decisions to make but right now they are at $225m total cap allocations, and at $207m active roster allocations excluding cap holds. I'm not sure how they get under the 2nd apron without getting rid of one of the Big Five.

Renouncing/waiving a guaranteed contract wouldn't clear the cap, they'll probably end up trading someone away with cash or a second round pick to get under the 2nd apron (traditionally those moves only involve cash to cover the full salary plus a bit, but soon that won't be an option since second apron teams can't trade cash. I guess we'll start to see 2nd rounders used in those deals instead, which is an interesting twist)

I also wouldn't include camp deals in any cap/tax estimates since they have ~0% chance of being on the roster at the end of the year (at the very least, I would ignore any that put teams over 14 or 15 players)

I'd love to see the total tax amounts they'll be paying, too, because it must be costing GSW like $75 million to have CP3 this year. He is so not worth that

Could you renounce and stretch their deal? I guess that would still be considered dead cap and part of the cap like Demetrious Jackson is with us.

Yeah, but I'm not sure how much it would help. The stretch is over twice the remaining years plus one, so for a 1 year deal you're still paying 1/3rd of it this year. The Demetrius Jackson hold is pretty small because we only had to stretch the guaranteed portion instead of the whole thing (so it also gained us very little space that year).

If they're close enough then the stretch could be a good call, at the very least having the threat of just stretching him might make it easier to reach a deal with another team.

Also, the deadline for stretching to affect this season was August 31.  In other words, we can no longer stretch guys on one year deals. 

[jordb2k5]

Alright so to recap the Celtics are still at a crossroads with the second apron. They are currently over but viable path to duck under would be moving Svi & Banton with cash & 2nds. Later signing players pro rated vet minimum. Is this still accurate?

They could go vastly over the second apron by using the grant TPE. I believe Otto Porter fits and only has one year left. I think that’s the guy to go for and do it soon. He can be aggregated later in the year in a deal. It costs more in luxury tax but also gives us a solid trade ballast combined with NGTD guys. Also my understanding is Pritchard can still be traded even after extension, he even is able to be moved for someone making 6.6M. I don’t think they are trading him but I’m merely laying out the possibilities based on my understanding of the cap.

I continue to insist I don’t want to see a middle of the road approach. A part of me still leans that it might be preferable to try to duck it this year. It depends on if we really can acquire a difference maker with the TPE aggregated. The TPE on its own I don’t see much available unless we attach picks for guys on rookie deals. Either go for it all the way or duck the apron one more year.

[Roy H.]

Alright so to recap the Celtics are still at a crossroads with the second apron. They are currently over but viable path to duck under would be moving Svi & Banton with cash & 2nds. Later signing players pro rated vet minimum. Is this still accurate?

They could go vastly over the second apron by using the grant TPE. I believe Otto Porter fits and only has one year left. I think that’s the guy to go for and do it soon. He can be aggregated later in the year in a deal. It costs more in luxury tax but also gives us a solid trade ballast combined with NGTD guys. Also my understanding is Pritchard can still be traded even after extension, he even is able to be moved for someone making 6.6M. I don’t think they are trading him but I’m merely laying out the possibilities based on my understanding of the cap.

I continue to insist I don’t want to see a middle of the road approach. A part of me still leans that it might be preferable to try to duck it this year. It depends on if we really can acquire a difference maker with the TPE aggregated. The TPE on its own I don’t see much available unless we attach picks for guys on rookie deals. Either go for it all the way or duck the apron one more year.

Why duck it?

[tenn_smoothie]

What a mess this CBA has become. Has it achieved its goals ? Exactly what were the goals of this thing when it started ?