How to tell if an NBA trade actually works under the 2023 CBA
Ben Bartlett · October 20, 2026
An NBA trade is legal only if it clears seven checks for every team involved: salary matching for that team's apron tier, the second-apron ban on combining salaries and sending cash, any hard cap the team triggered earlier in the season, sign-and-trade rules, the Stepien rule on future first-round picks, trade-eligibility dates for recently signed players, and roster limits. A salary check alone covers only the first.
1. Salary matching, by tier
A team under the cap can absorb salary into its room. A team over the cap but below the first apron can take back more than it sends: the greater of 125% of outgoing salary plus $250,000, or the lesser of 200% plus $250,000 and outgoing plus $9,095,709. A team at or above either apron after the trade matches dollar for dollar.
2. Aggregation and cash
A team over the second apron ($221.7M) can't combine two or more contracts to match one bigger salary, and can't send cash. Any team that aggregates or sends cash is hard-capped at the second apron for the rest of the season, so the deal also has to leave it below that line.
3. Hard caps from earlier moves
This is the one trade calculators miss most. A team that used the non-taxpayer mid-level in July is hard-capped at the first apron all season. A January trade that would push it one dollar over is illegal, even when the salaries match.
4. Sign-and-trades
The acquiring team is hard-capped at the first apron and can't already be over it. The contract has to run three to four seasons, can't be signed with the mid-level, and has to happen before the regular season starts. The team sending the player still has to match the return on its own side.
5. The Stepien rule
A team can't leave itself without a first-round pick in two consecutive future drafts. That counts picks dealt in earlier trades, not just the ones in this deal. Picks can only be traded up to seven drafts out.
6. Trade-eligibility dates
A player signed as a free agent this offseason generally can't be traded until December 15, or three months after signing if that's later. Re-signed players with large raises, recent draft picks, and newly acquired players each have their own windows.
7. Roster limits
Each team has to stay within the roster maximum after the deal. A three-for-one sends two extra players somewhere, and the receiving team may have to waive someone.
Checking all seven at once
The Over the Apron trade machine runs every one of these checks on every team in the deal, using current contracts and each team's real July moves, and names the rule (with the CBA article when one applies) when a deal fails. A move that trips a hard cap carries forward into every move you make after it.
Common questions
Why does a trade machine say a deal works when the league wouldn't allow it?
Many trade machines only test salary matching. Under the 2023 CBA, deals also fail on aggregation bans, hard caps triggered by earlier moves, sign-and-trade rules, the Stepien rule, and trade-eligibility dates, none of which show up in a salary check.
Can a second-apron team make a trade?
Yes, as long as it takes back no more salary than it sends, doesn't combine outgoing salaries to match a bigger contract, and sends no cash.
When can players signed in free agency be traded?
Generally on December 15, or three months after the signing if that comes later.
Test a deal against these rules.
Build a trade or signing and the sim rules on it, with the relevant citation when one applies.