Trade & FA 2024-25:

[F Gump]

Dummy question here...

If teams make a mid-season trade, does each get to claim a pro-rated portion of the traded players contract? I know it's mostly moot because you have to balance incoming with outgoing, but in this era of aprons and thin spaces underneath, I'm trying to understand whether you can get a higher priced player for half a season (ish) without breaking the apron cap.

" If teams make a mid-season trade, does each get to claim a pro-rated portion of the traded players contract? "...As a cap consideration, no.

The trade must be salary matched based on current year salary, which each team does from their own angle to fit their own cap situation. Lots of rules govern that, but when it's done, your total 15-man NBA payroll (plus whatever salary gets paid on any waived player) is your new cap total.

The actual question of who pays whom how much is different, as the salary itself gets split on a prorated basis. Incentive bonuses if any are paid by the eoy team (with a cap/tax hit).