Colin Maher, Salary Cap Strategist and Contributor to No Trade Clause

Many are still asking “Why?” this trade happened, but as the dust settles, it’s time to break down “How?” this trade worked through the rules of the CBA.

If you’ve read my articles before, you know that each team can view each trade from their own lens and carve it up how they want from their own perspective to make it work most beneficial for them. So let’s break down the trade from each team’s point-of-view.

Trade Summary

Below is the trade as a whole. For details regarding the picks, visit our Draft Capital Page.

Point-of-View Summaries

Below I breakdown the trade from each team’s point of view individually.

Dallas Mavericks

  1. Anthony Davis waived his Trade Bonus (15%) to allow DAL (note that the acquiring team absorbs the Trade Bonus as Team Salary) to initially stay below the Luxury Tax Threshold (until other transactions were made) and the First Apron.
  2. All three players are sent in separate trades using the Standard TPE:
    • Trade # 1 – Luka’s salary + $250k buffer absorb Davis’s salary in one trade.
    • Trade # 2 – Kleber’s salary is used to acquire Christie, which creates a $3.86 million TPE for the difference in salary.
    • Trade #3 – Morris is traded separately and a TPE is created for his entire $2,087,519 salary.

Los Angeles Lakers

  1. Luka has a 15% trade bonus, but a Player’s salary still cannot exceed his applicable Maximum Salary. Because Doncic’s salary is already at 30% of the Salary Cap, the trade bonus is extinguished.
  2. Dallas breaks down the trade into three separate trades:
    • Trade #1 – LAL uses Davis’s salary to acquire Luka in one trade using the Standard TPE.
    • Trade #2 – Christie and Hood-Schifino are combined using the Aggregated TPE to acquire Kleber in a second trade.
    • Trade #3 – LAL acquires Markieff Morris using the Minimum Player Salary Exception.

Utah Jazz

  1. UTA uses the Room Exception to absorb Hood-Schifino’s salary.
  2. In exchange for absorbing salary, UTA receives two Second Round Picks.
  3. Rerouting Hood-Schifino to UTA allowed enough outgoing salary for LAL to acquire Kleber while keeping DAL below the First Apron.

Touch Rule

When three or more teams are included in a trade, each team involved in the trade must “touch” at least two other teams. A “touch” is either sending or receiving one of the tradable assets.

Below is a breakdown how each team satisfies the Touch Rule:

  • DAL – Receives Davis from LAL; sends 2nd Rd. Pick to UTA;
  • LAL – Receives Doncic from DAL; sends Hood-Schifino to UTA;
  • UTA – Receives Hood-Schifino from LAL; receives 2nd Rd. Pick from DAL