Cavaliers Face Tight Trade Restrictions Under Second Tax Apron Rules
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The Cleveland Cavaliers enter the stretch run of the 2025-26 season with their payroll above the NBA’s second tax apron, limiting the front office’s flexibility ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
How the apron affects Cleveland
Teams whose total salaries exceed the second apron threshold of $207,824,000 are not hard-capped, but the league imposes several restrictions on their ability to reshape the roster in season.
- They cannot combine multiple player salaries to match a larger incoming contract.
- Any outgoing salary may only bring back up to 100% of that amount in a trade.
- Traded player exceptions created during the 2024-25 regular season are off-limits.
- Trade exceptions generated with a signed-and-traded player are also barred from use.
- The bi-annual and mid-level exceptions cannot be used to acquire a player via trade.
- The club is prohibited from sending cash considerations in any deal.
Because of these rules, Cleveland’s options are largely limited to one-for-one swaps of comparable salaries or minimum-salary transactions. Only one league-wide trade has been finalized since opening night, but activity is expected to spike before the deadline, leaving the Cavaliers with a far narrower path to improve than teams operating below the cap.
Source: Hoops Rumors
