NBA Exec: New Rules ‘Forces’ Teams to Trade Players ‘You Don’t Want to Move on From’

As NBA teams are still getting acclimated to the new salary cap and apron rules, there will likely be more surprise trades involving players who wouldn’t necessarily be expected to be dealt.

As part of an ongoing series looking ahead to the 2024-25 NBA season, The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski was told by one decision-maker for a Western Conference club that the new CBA “forces” teams to trade players “you don’t want to move on from.”

This season marks the first year of the new apron rules in which teams are penalized based on how deep into the tax they go.

The second apron is particularly harsh with teams unable to aggregate multiple contracts in trades for salary-matching; no access to the mid-level exception; and their first-round draft pick automatically moves to the back of the round if they stay in the second apron for three years during any five-year period.

The most obvious example of the apron rules in effect from the offseason was also the most recent blockbuster deal that sent Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the New York Knicks.

On the surface, Minnesota trading a player who was an All-Star last season and helped the team advance to the Western Conference Finals for just the second time in franchise history seems odd. It’s even more peculiar that the deal came together so late in the offseason.

But Towns was one of three Timberwolves players set to make more than $40 million in 2024-25, along with Anthony Edwards ($42.2 million) and Rudy Gobert ($43.8 million).

The T-Wolves did get Julius Randle and his $33.1 million salary back in the trade, but that’s still $16 million less than what Towns will earn this season. It also helps that Randle could become a free agent as soon as next summer if he declines his $30.9 million player option.

Towns, on the other hand, has three guaranteed years left on his contract plus a $61 million player option for the 2027-28 season.

The Athletic’s Danny Leroux noted the Knicks will actually save close to $50 million between player salaries and tax payments for getting out of the second apron in the deal, but there is a long-term benefit to the Timberwolves.

In particular, according to Leroux, Minnesota has gained leverage over Gobert because the team doesn’t need him to exercise his opt out next summer and re-sign at a lower rate than his $46.7 million salary in 2025-26 in order to save against the luxury tax:

“The four-time Defensive Player of the Year potentially loses the leverage to squeeze a stronger long-term deal in his 30s less than a year from now. Instead, there is a chance now that the Timberwolves could be flexible and potentially wield cap space in the summer of 2026 when Gobert and Mike Conley’s current contracts expire.”

The Timberwolves are still on track to have a $96 million tax bill this season, but the long-term flexibility they gained by not having Towns’ future salaries on their books leaves them in a position to see what they currently have around Anthony Edwards and how best to build the roster going forward.

There have been other examples of the apron rules at play, particularly the Golden State Warriors opting to let Klay Thompson join the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade, and the Denver Nuggets letting a valuable role player like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leave to sign with the Orlando Magic in free agency.

Both moves will save their clubs a lot of money and open up some flexibility going forward, but it could also make the teams less dangerous as playoff contenders going into the 2024-25 season.

The hope for the NBA is this will bring about more parity across the league. It just may lead to a lot of puzzling moves for fans who just want to see their favorite team put together the best roster that can compete for a title right now.