2021-2022 ROSTER TALK: [ARCHIVED]

[Tyler]

Here's the relevant text from the Larry Coon CBA FAQ:

93. What is "Base Year Compensation?" How does it affect trades?

Base Year Compensation (BYC) is mostly an artifact of previous collective bargaining agreements. Its intent was to prevent teams from signing free agents to new contracts with salaries specifically intended to help facilitate trades. BYC was triggered when a team was over the cap and re-signed a player using the Larry Bird or Early Bird exception with a raise over 20%. Once triggered, BYC temporarily lowered the player's outgoing salary for salary-matching purposes (only), and therefore reduced or eliminated teams' ability to target salaries for trade purposes.

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The 2011 CBA mostly eliminated BYC -- in fact, the term "Base Year Compensation" was removed from the agreement entirely. The rules formerly known as BYC now apply under just one circumstance -- during sign-and-trade transactions (see question number 92). If a team re-signs its Larry Bird or Early Bird free agent in order to trade the player in a sign-and-trade transaction, the player's new salary is greater than the minimum, he receives a raise greater than 20%, and the team is at or above the cap immediately after the signing1, then the player's outgoing salary for trade purposes is either his previous salary or 50% of his new salary, whichever is greater. The team receiving the player always uses his new salary.

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For example, a player made $5 million last season, is a Larry Bird free agent, and re-signs with his previous team for $10 million. The team is a taxpayer, and therefore is over the cap following the signing. The signing is part of a sign-and-trade transaction for another team's $10 million player. Since the BYC conditions were satisfied the player's outgoing salary for the trade portion of this sign-and-trade transaction is $5 million. This trade therefore would not be allowed, even though the players' new salaries match, since a taxpaying team cannot trade a $5 million player for a $10 million player. The highest salary this team could acquire in a sign-and-trade arrangement is $6.35 million2.

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Once a sign-and-trade is complete, the player's actual salary is included in his new team's team salary.

Long story short, base year compensation adds additional trade matching rules that are extremely difficult to meet without adding lots of additional salary and/or getting a 3rd team involved. And since Dallas will be well over the cap this summer with Luka's extension kicking in, BYC rules will apply to Brunson's deal. So a S&T is still possible, but more difficult than a typical trade.