Over The Apron @OverTheApron

Not all Player Options signal the same leverage. Across 69 POs from ’27-28 through ’29-30, only 14.5% sit between $20M–$35M. Control is easiest to obtain when it matters least—or when the player matters most. (Lesson for JK). The Player Option Paradox 👇 #NBA #DubNation

Two one-year minimums, $3.88M and $2.63M paid. Cap charge on both: $2,449,421. Golden State is hard-capped at the second apron from Melton's taxpayer MLE. These two put them $847,568 under it with 15 contracts. That's the roster. Any trade this year has to be salary-neutral, and can't add $848K.

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania

3 weeks ago

Free agent forward Georges Niang has agreed to a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the Golden State Warriors, Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman of @PrioritySports tell ESPN. Niang -- a career 40% 3-point shooter -- enters his 11th NBA season after missing 2025-26 due to injury.

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A one-year minimum for a six-year vet pays $3.07M but counts $2,449,421 against the cap and aprons (Art. VII §3(f)); the league covers the rest. That's why it fits: Hardaway's MLE hard-capped Miami at the first apron and Richards leaves them $2.52M under it. Room for exactly one more vet minimum, with $69K to spare.

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania

3 weeks ago

Free agent center Nick Richards has agreed to a one-year deal with the Miami Heat, sources tell ESPN. After signing Klay Thompson, the Heat fill roster slot No. 14 with a reserve big man.

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The Lakers could offer more because they had more: the full non-taxpayer MLE is $15.0M. Minnesota's best tool was the $6.06M taxpayer version. He took half the annual salary for a player option after one year and another crack at the market next summer, when he'll be 24 with Bird rights.

The filed number is $12,431,200: $6,064,000 this year, $6,367,200 on the option year. Year one is the taxpayer mid-level to the dollar. Using it hard-caps Minnesota at the second apron all season. They sit at $215.0M against a $221.7M line, and because they're over the first apron, every trade from here has to send out at least what it takes back.

The filed number is $12,431,200: $6,064,000 this year, $6,367,200 on the option year. Year one is the taxpayer mid-level to the dollar. Using it hard-caps Minnesota at the second apron all season. They sit at $215.0M against a $221.7M line, and because they're over the first apron, every trade from here has to send out at least what it takes back.

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania

3 weeks ago

BREAKING: Jonathan Kuminga has agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, plus a player option, agent Aaron Turner tells ESPN. Kuminga will be a starter alongside Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert on the West contender.

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Why this works: Minnesota is over the first apron, so a trade can only bring back 100% of what goes out. Green $14.68M out, Williams $6.02M + Konchar $6.17M in. Legal. Then Konchar gets waived and stretched to $2.06M a year. Net effect: $6.6M off the books, almost exactly Kuminga's $6.06M taxpayer MLE. The trade was the cap room.

Why this works: Minnesota is over the first apron, so a trade can only bring back 100% of what goes out. Green $14.68M out, Williams $6.02M + Konchar $6.17M in. Legal. Then Konchar gets waived and stretched to $2.06M a year. Net effect: $6.6M off the books, almost exactly Kuminga's $6.06M taxpayer MLE. The trade was the cap room.

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania

3 weeks ago

The Minnesota Timberwolves are trading Josh Green and cash to the Utah Jazz for Cody Williams and John Konchar, sources tell ESPN.

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Where the model has the league after the last week of moves: OKC 68 wins (+13.7 net) — nobody else is above +6. BOS 53, LAL 52, SAS 51, TOR 50, DET 50. CLE and PHI both 49; MIN 44 after Kuminga.

Over The Apron @OverTheApron

2 weeks ago

The stretch deadline passed Saturday and four teams used it: CLE — Cam Whitmore, $5.46M → $1.82M × 3 MIN — John Konchar, $6.17M → $2.06M × 3 SAC — DeMar DeRozan, $10M → $3.33M × 3 DEN — Jonas Valančiūnas, $2M → $667K × 3 Cleveland needed it to get under its hard cap.

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The stretch deadline passed Saturday and four teams used it: CLE — Cam Whitmore, $5.46M → $1.82M × 3 MIN — John Konchar, $6.17M → $2.06M × 3 SAC — DeMar DeRozan, $10M → $3.33M × 3 DEN — Jonas Valančiūnas, $2M → $667K × 3 Cleveland needed it to get under its hard cap. Minnesota needed it to fit Kuminga under theirs. Sacramento used it to duck the tax line. Denver just shaved its tax bill. Here's where all 30 teams sit now:

If you still wanted this, here's what I've got, using the option-year salary rather than total contract value. 26-27 (already decided in June): 20 player options avg ~$14M (9 exercised, 11 declined) vs 53 team options avg ~$4.5M 27-28: 38 POs avg ~$23M vs 95 TOs avg ~$6.7M 28-29: 16 POs avg ~$31M vs 49 TOs avg ~$7.7M 29-30: 14 POs avg ~$38M vs only 4 TOs avg ~$3.9M So roughly 1 player option for every 2.5-3 team options through 28-29, then it flips hard in 29-30. Most of the team options are rookie scale years or minimums though. If you only count guys with 4+ years of service it's more like 23 vet TOs in 27-28 (~$8.4M) and 7 in 28-29 (~$11M). Player options skew the other way, they're mostly the last year of star deals the further out you go. Jokic, Giannis and AD all have $62.8M POs in 27-28, Embiid is at $67.3M in 28-29, Tatum $71.4M and Booker $68.8M in 29-30.

@adriaandelange3 @POK252 overtheapron.com this is a really good trade/cap machine type deal that @samesfandiari posted once.

@hightop_fade @BobbyMarks42 Legal under the 2023 CBA. Test out how this move would change both teams' projected win totals and what moves they could make after this at Over the Apron: overtheapron.com/?t=eyJ0IjpbIkd…

@bor3dsportsfan Updated! x.com/BenBartlettt/s…

Over The Apron @OverTheApron

2 weeks ago

The stretch deadline passed Saturday and four teams used it: CLE — Cam Whitmore, $5.46M → $1.82M × 3 MIN — John Konchar, $6.17M → $2.06M × 3 SAC — DeMar DeRozan, $10M → $3.33M × 3 DEN — Jonas Valančiūnas, $2M → $667K × 3 Cleveland needed it to get under its hard cap.

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Joe Dumars would understand the rule if he used Over The Apron!

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Austin Robert @Rowbear32

2 months ago

Update on this, I was informed by someone in the league that the NBA prorate of vet min. deals only applies to 1 year deals. So the Pelicans will be paying the entire $7.9M His comment was, "I don't think they understood the rule" referring to Joe Dumars.

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This tab that @BenBartlettt created for @OverTheApron is a brilliant piece of work — and design innovation. It's user-friendly, clear, and offers a concise breakdown of how a trade might occur and its implications. Great work, Ben. #NBA #NBATrades

Full ruling and implications on other moves at Over The Apron: overtheapron.com/?t=eyJ0IjpbIkd…

Embiid for Butler plus GSW’s 2027 and 2032 firsts clears matching, both existing hard caps and Stepien.

Kalshi Hoops @KalshiHoops

2 months ago

Potential Trade Scenerio: Warriors receive: • Joel Embiid Sixers receive: • Jimmy Butler III • Multiple 1st-round picks "I'll give you another [trade scenerio] from a Sixers' standpoint that absolutely could be in play... A deal that makes a ton of sense both ways is that

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@KalshiHoops Ran this exact framework through the current CBA. It’s legal: both teams clear salary matching and their existing hard caps, while GSW’s 2027 and 2032 firsts satisfy the Stepien rule. Full interactive trade: overtheapron.com/?t=eyJ0IjpbIkd…