The NBA moratorium ended on Saturday which means now all the deals that have been reported are being made official. For the most part, the main moving parts are already known, but there are still lots of salary cap gymnastics going on behind the scenes to make these deals work – especially with the new CBA kicking in.
Every dollar counts as teams are trying to avoid different luxury taxes and salary aprons, or trying to squeeze room for extra players on rosters. Many teams seem to be finding that the best way to circumvent the salary cap is to connect different deals and tie multiple transactions together; this is specifically true with sign and trade agreements.
Well, the biggest version of this in league history officially took place on Saturday as enough transactions were tied together to create the first 6-team trade the NBA has ever seen. The deal ended up including the Mavericks, Warriors, 76ers, Timberwolves, Hornets, and Nuggets.
This was essentially three separate trades that were tied together to make one massive one. The actual trade saw the Mavericks receive Klay Thompson and a 2025 2nd-round pick, the Warriors receive Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson, the 76ers receive a 2031 2nd-round pick, the Timberwolves receive a 2025 2nd-round pick, a 2031 2nd-round pick swap, and cash, the Hornets receive Reggie Jackson, Josh Green, a 2029 2nd-round pick, and a 2030 2nd-round pick, and the Nuggets receive cash.
These moves are all based around deals that had already been agreed to in principle, but lumping them together proved advantageous and easier for the teams involved. For the Nuggets, there is really nothing new to report here; we already knew they agreed to deal three 2nd-round picks and Reggie Jackson to the Hornets to get off his contract. The official terms are just a formality for bookkeepers as the Hornets rerouted one of the picks.
The only thing that has changed is that the Nuggets are now a part of NBA history as this trade is the new standard for most teams involved in a single deal. At the time that this trade was first reported, the general sentiment was negative as the Nuggets were clearly just dumping salary and paying handsomely to do it.
That’s all still true, but with recent signings of Dario Saric and Vlatko Cancar, and rumors of a Russell Westbrook addition incoming, the steam emanating from Nuggets fans has cooled a bit. This team is far from perfect and the front office still has work to do, but the offseason is trending in the right direction and now the Nuggets have made some history along the way.