Trade & FA 2025-26: Free Agency Starts 5pm CST/6pm EST

[Smitty]

I don't think adding extra teams to the deal helps ATL that much if you hold to the not-paying-tax criteria.  All of their salaries except the ones we've discussed are minimums.  So, sending one out to a third team to avoid tax doesn't help as they have to replace it.  I guess you could argue that they could do a remainder of the season deal with one of their two-ways and save money under the tax by sending out a minimum (to Dallas or to a third team)

One place a third team might help is sending all four of KP, Kennard, OO and Risacher with one of them going to the third team.  That leaves ATL $22.5mm under the tax and with some room to add back a center (could be Gafford, but it could be a center from the third team).  

Another could be sending out Kispert in a non-aggregated deal (again, could be Dallas or could be a third team).  They could also do Kispert for Gafford as a side deal where the ATL outgoing is KP/Kennard/OO and solve ATL's center depth issue.  That side deal takes away space under the tax for ATL to the tune of $411,320.  

So, if Deal #1 is Gafford for Kispert and Deal #2 is KP, Kennard, OO and Newell for AD and Exum, there is still $9,915,388 of space under the tax for Dallas to send back more players.  Martin fits, but ATL only has 13 functional players since Exum is one of their 14.  Or, you can go back to Hardy or D'Lo and back filling with a minimum and a two-way.

Yeah, this is what I meant about multi-team deals or non-aggregated ones involving Kispert or CJ. You and I outlined the simplest ways to do the deal, or the most logical ones, but there is more than one way to get there, like you've outlined above!