NBA GM: Rule Change 'I Didn't Even Know About' Prevented Team from Making Early Trade

NBA general managers are still adjusting to the trade restrictions involved in the introduction of the second luxury tax apron ahead of the 2024-25 season, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

An anonymous NBA general manager told Windhorst: "We were looking at a trade concept the other day and there were three reasons the other team wouldn't be allowed to do it— one of the rules I didn't even know about."

The second apron is set at just over $188.93 million for the 2024-25 season, according to Spotrac.

The Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks currently sit above that threshold, while the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Miami Heat are just below the limit, per Spotrac.

Teams over the second apron are held to all the previous restrictions faced by those under the first apron, which include the inability to take on more salary in a trade than is sent out, as well as a set of additional stricter penalties.

The second-apron penalties include a ban on outgoing cash or contract aggregation in trades, so that teams can no longer stack together salaries in order to bring in a player on a larger contract.

That means second-apron teams can only trade for an incoming player if they have an outgoing player on a larger or equal salary.

As Windhorst noted, that could cause some trade market hesitancy around Dec. 15, when players who signed with their teams ahead of the 2024-25 season are eligible to be traded.

"In the past... players who were traded in early December could be re-traded again by the trade deadline in February," Windhorst wrote. "Because of the new rules on taking in salary in deals, making a trade in December might prevent teams from making another one in February."

In addition to Dec. 15, two dates to keep an eye on as the 2024-25 season progresses are Jan. 10, when contracts become guaranteed for the season of the season, as well as the Feb. 6 trade deadline.