02-04-2026, 06:25 PM
A $20.8 million trade exception (TPE) in the NBA allows a team over the salary cap to acquire a player (or players) earning up to $20.800001 million ($20.8M + $1) in a single transaction without sending back matching salary. This exception must be used within one year of its creation and cannot be combined with players or other exceptions to acquire a higher-salaried player.
Key Aspects of a 20.8M Trade Exception:
Capacity: The team can absorb one or more players whose total combined incoming salary does not exceed the TPE amount.
Usage: It is most commonly used to trade for players on similar or smaller contracts, such as $18M–$20M, or to take on "bad" contracts from other teams in exchange for draft picks.
Restrictions: It cannot be used to sign free agents.
Partial Use: If the full $20.8M is not used, the remainder can, in some cases, be used on another player, depending on the specific transaction rules.
Essentially, the team acts as a "bank" for that amount, allowing them to add salary to their cap sheet that they wouldn't normally be able to.
Key Aspects of a 20.8M Trade Exception:
Capacity: The team can absorb one or more players whose total combined incoming salary does not exceed the TPE amount.
Usage: It is most commonly used to trade for players on similar or smaller contracts, such as $18M–$20M, or to take on "bad" contracts from other teams in exchange for draft picks.
Restrictions: It cannot be used to sign free agents.
Partial Use: If the full $20.8M is not used, the remainder can, in some cases, be used on another player, depending on the specific transaction rules.
Essentially, the team acts as a "bank" for that amount, allowing them to add salary to their cap sheet that they wouldn't normally be able to.
![[-]](https://www.mavsboard.com/images/collapse.png)