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The Boston Celtics did manage to get something for Gordon Hayward after all. After all the dismay about Danny Ainge missing out on what the Indiana Pacers were offering, he was able to pivot and secure a valuable asset from the Charlotte Hornets.
The $ 28.5 million Traded Player Exception (TPE) that Boston received in exchange for a pair of second-round picks is the largest TPE in NBA history. It can be very valuable to the Celtics, perhaps even more valuable than what the Pacers were offering.
Here’s a full description of what it is, how Boston can use it, and who they might target.
What is TPE?
A traded player exception is essentially a coupon that a team receives in exchange for a traded player to a team that can absorb it into a cap space or exception.
In the NBA, salaries must match for a trade to work. When a team, like Charlotte, can sign a player directly but decides to trade for them without firing any players, the sending team gets a TPE instead. It’s one way to match the salaries but, basically, do it later.
So Boston gets some kind of coupon of Gordon Hayward’s first year salary amount, and they can use it to match the salary in some trade or trades later.
Why would Charlotte do that?
Because they got two second round picks for it, and those can be invaluable either as cheap players to fill a roster, or as sweeteners for subsequent trades.
How can Boston use it?
The fine print on this coupon reads “cannot be combined with any other item.” They can split it up and trade for more than one player or in trades with more than one team. They can do a trade tomorrow with one team and in March with another. Some key rules:
- It cannot be combined with anything else to increase its value. They can’t add a player earning $ 5 million, or the $ 5 million EPT created by the Enes Kanter deal, to a trade and make it worth $ 33.5 million. This TPE is alone.
- It cannot be used after its expiration date. Usually it’s a year, but due to the odd schedule of this season, it will expire sometime before the start of the next season.
- It cannot be used to sign a free agent. It is not money to spend. Maybe you can think of it as some kind of gift card instead, and it can only be used in the “specialty store”. However, if there is a free agent they wanted to sign, they could probably easily negotiate a signing and trade with their original team and that team would create their own TPE.
Who can Boston with?
Step one: You can go here and scroll down to D’Angelo Russell at 31 to start seeing who really fits into the exception. Everyone above him is missing (sorry, Bradley Beal fans).
From there we can eliminate some obvious names. Giannis Antetokounmpo is not traded for an exception. Also, keep in mind that because Boston signs Tristan Thompson with a mid-level exception, they will be capped at around $ 139 million, so using the $ 28.5 million EPT may not be possible. unless you move other players.
Step two: find realistic scenarios
I will divide this into two levels. The first is about the players that all the TPE would be used on and the second is mostly guys who would take a piece of it.
Level 1:
- Otto Porter, $ 28,489,239
- Nikola Vucevic, $ 26,000,000
- Buddy Hield, $ 24,931,817
- Harrison Barnes, $ 22,215,909
- Gary Harris, $ 19,160,714
Personally, I think Boston should be aiming for the wings. Vucevic is on this list because he’s an intriguing stretch-5 option with a declining contract, but he’s still very expensive and I would be wary of that move.
Porter is 27 and is a career 40.4% shooter from 3. He is overpaid in Chicago but it’s an expiring contract and trading for him brings his Bird rights, so Boston can either sign him for a deal more reasonable next season, either trade him at the deadline. Hield and Barnes are candidates to move to Sacramento, but Hield has just started a big five-year extension and that could be too much for Boston.
Barnes is a formidable shooter who can adapt to Boston’s multi-positional style. He’s also on a falling contract, earning $ 20.3 million next season and $ 18.3 the following season. These are very tradable numbers if Boston continues to retool.
Harris is an intriguing “exotic” guy who has one more season on his contract with the Denver Nuggets. Injuries have cost him opportunities and the team has done well without him. Their off-season moves have them capped, so a wage swap to create a TPE and take its place over the summer when the hard cap is gone makes sense. Boston would hope for good health and a new team could make him the 40% shooter he was two years ago.
Level 2:
- Aaron Gordon, $ 18,136,364
- Evan Fournier, $ 17,150,000
- JJ Redick, $ 13,013,700
- Kelly Olynyk, $ 13,598,243
- Al-Farouq Aminu, $ 9,720,900
- George Hill, $ 9,590,602
- PJ Tucker, $ 7,969,537
If I’m Danny Ainge, I basically call the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic and ask who on their roster is available in that situation. Gordon could do very well with the Celtics if he plays fair in himself and with a system that doesn’t expect too much of him.
Personally, I prefer to get Fournier if possible. He’s expiring this season and could provide immediate help. He’s 28 and a deep shot killer, so Orlando might just be looking to dump him rather than pay him next season. The real questions with a Fournier trade are whether Orlando would ask too much in return, and whether Boston would want to pay it in the future.
There’s no question in my mind that New Orleans would like to reclaim an asset for Redick. Boston can certainly use a reliable shooter like him on the bench.
Miami probably wouldn’t mind clearing a cap in an Olynyk trade if Boston hoped to try their floor-spacing ability one more time.
Aminu is a very low probability guy, but if he’s in good health he can be a strong and versatile defensive wing. If he’s able to recapture any of his shooting magics in Portland, he’d be a good bench option.
Hill would be a very capable replacement for Kemba Walker and he could step in and lead the series if Walker’s knee becomes an issue. His $ 10million salary next season isn’t guaranteed, but $ 10million could make him a valuable business chip next summer.
Tucker would make the frontcourt a bit more crowded, but there’s no harm in calling the Houston Rockets financially strapped and seeing if you can get a steal.
It’s important to note that guys at this level are also very tradable and could be invaluable to the Celtics in future salary match scenarios. Right now, Marcus Smart is the team’s only mid-size contract, which means he should be included in most business scenarios for a superstar. Getting players who are also the size of his contract could help Boston keep him if a bigger trade materializes later.
Regardless of how the Celtics play, they will have a few options. Some of these names make more sense than others, and some may not be available at all, but these are the types of players in play for Boston with TPE.
Danny Ainge got something in exchange for Gordon Hayward, and if he can make the right choices, his stint through the TPE could end up becoming far better than anything the Indiana Pacers had to offer.
This was the subject of the most recent Locked On Celtics Podcast, which is embedded below. He goes into even more detail about what TPE is and other questions about its use. You can subscribe to the podcast on Google, Apple, Stitcher, or Spotify, or wherever there are podcasts.
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