The Celtics ended up getting a valuable piece for Gordon Hayward – and it wasn’t a draft pick or a young player. As part of the sign-and-trade with the Hornets, the Celtics received a $28.5 million trade exception, the largest of its kind in NBA history.
Here’s what the trade exception is and who the Celtics can potentially acquire with it.
What are the rules on using trade exceptions?
A trade exception allows teams that are over the salary cap to trade for a player (or players) without having to trade one of their own players as long as the incoming salary isn’t larger than the exception plus $100,000.