What is the CBA?
What is a Salary Cap?
What is the difference between Maximum and Minimum Cap Space?
What are the rules involved in trading players?

So you want to know the rules involved in being a Real General Manager? Well, welcome to the complicated world of general managing in the NBA. Here are several of the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that fellow basketball fans have asked me. The following are questions regarding the basics of trading and other player transactions with answers tailored to the terminology used at this site. The answers were derived from sources, such as newspapers, various FAQ's on the internet, and from the CBA itself.

For an in-depth analysis of the CBA, I encourage you to read Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap FAQ. Mr. Coon is not affiliated with this site, but is regarded by myself and many others as having the most prominent and detailed FAQ on the CBA.

What is the CBA? The CBA referred to on this site is the Collective Bargaining Agreement that was negotiated between the NBA owners and the NBA Players Association. The CBA is the document that serves as the rules and guidelines on player personnel movement as well as many other issues.

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What is a salary cap? A salary cap is the predetermined limit on what an NBA team can spend for players. Like many rules, there are numerous loopholes. Whether a team is over or under the salary cap determines whether or not numerous provisions of the CBA apply.

• If a team has contractual obligations to players in excess of the predetermined salary cap number, they are over the cap.

• If a team is under the salary cap by less than the combined amount of exemptions they possess, the team is technically over the cap.

• If a team is under the cap by more than the combined amount of the exemptions they posses, the team is under the cap.

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What is the difference between Maximum and Minimum Cap Space? For purposes of 00-01 cap space, maximum cap space represents only the salary commitments of the team and assuming all of the team's free agents would be renounced. Minimum cap space, on the other hand, represents all salary commitments of the team plus the values for all unrenounced free agents of the team.

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What are the rules involved in trading players? There are many rules that teams must follow when trading players. These rules, like many others, revolves around whether or not the teams involved are over or under the salary cap. Here are several of the rules:

• A player's trade value is the same as his actual salary unless he is a BYC Player or his contract runs through his 36th Birthday in which different rules apply. For BYC Players, the trade value for the team trading them is often lower than the trade value to the team receiving them (the same player has two different values in the same trade). For players who have contracts running through their 36th Birthday, their trade value is higher than their actual salaries, but remains the same value for both the trading team and the receiving team. Future draft picks have no trade value.

• A team may trade for players having less trade value than the trade value of the players they are trading without restriction.

• A team may trade for players having more trade value than the trade value of the players they are trading without restriction only if:

The team is under the cap and the net result of the trade value keeps the team within $100,000 of the salary cap.

• A team is subject to the 15% Rule if:

The team is under the cap and the net result of the trade value pushes them more than $100,000 over the salary cap, or

The team is technically over the cap and trades for players having more trade value than the trade value of the players they are trading.

The team is actually over the cap and trades for players having more trade value than the trade value of the players they are trading.

• The 15% Rule. If a team is subject to the 15% Rule, the trade value they receive must not exceed $100,000 of the trade value of the players they are trading times 1.15. [Trade value receiving less than or equal to (Trade value outgoing * 1.15) + $100,000]

• BYC Rules. If a team is trading a player who is a BYC player, the trade value that they are trading is less than the actual salary of that player. There are two groups of BYC Players, Full and Partial BYC Players.

Full BYC Players have their outgoing trade value set at the greater of 50% of their current salary. Full BYC Players have their receiving trade value as their actual salary.

Partial BYC Players have their outgoing trade value set at 75% of their previous year's salary. Partial BYC Players have their receiving trade value as their actual salary.

• Cash Considerations in Trading. Teams may include cash considerations in a trade, cash of up to no more than $3,000,000. However, this sum is not used when applying the trade rules so it cannot be used to help teams meet the 15% Rule, etc. The bigger market teams try to use cash considerations to trade up draft picks with smaller market teams or to induce a small market team take on players with large salaries. The limit of $3,000,000 is there so that the large market teams cannot "buy" their way in a trade.

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If you have any ideas for additions to the FAQ or if you think we have something incorrect, please e-mail me at ibc@realgm.com. Our goal at Real General Manager is to have the most accurate player personnel information for all basketball fans. We will do our very best to make sure our commitment to this goal remains achieved.