The Over 38 Rule focuses on a way teams could circumvent the NBA's soft cap structure with older players. Read more »

The first two seasons are fully guaranteed at a scale based on draft sloat and the final two seasons are team options. Read more »

It makes sense for the league to have different rules for rookie scale extensions because those players have an identical set of circumstances that are somewhat different from players who join the league other ways. Read more »

There are three requirements for a player to be eligible for a Designated Veteran contract or extension. Read more »

Tampering can take many forms both publicly and privately. It is believed that the most egregious forms of tampering are never discovered and are in a gray area of league rules, making it difficult to interpret let alone punish. Read more »

While not the most impactful rule in the CBA, Designated Player extensions have played a meaningful part in some huge events over the last five years and are a key component of the overall extension and free agency picture. Read more »

Bradley Beal's cap hold will be 250% of his 15-16 salary while it would have been 200% if his salary was even $1 over the estimated average. That difference may not seem substantial but it absolutely will be for the Wizards this July. Read more »

The actions that trigger the hard cap are the things that below the tax teams can do but taxpayers (more specifically, teams over the "apron") cannot such as acquiring a player via sign-and-trade. Read more »

While there are a series of different methods to generate a fair estimate of how much money will be out there in July 2016, $1 billion works well as an approximation and we should not lose sight of how staggeringly large that number is for the NBA and the league's structure moving forward. Read more »

The DPE stands out among the CBA exceptions because teams have to apply for it, leading to one of the more interesting processes with an NBA-appointed doctor to make the ruling. Read more »

Bird rights (named after Larry Bird) are exceptions to the salary cap that allow teams to retain players, typically those who have spent continuous time on that team. Read more »

The NBA uses different rules for International and non-International players. Read more »

A full, regularly updated listing of every entry in the CBA Encyclopedia. Read more »

The Bi-annual Exception is a nice source for teams to find low rotation players worth more than their minimum. Read more »

While Bird rights carry the heavy lifting for teams looking to retain their own free agents, the Mid-Level Exception is often the most powerful tool over the cap teams have to add new talent. Read more »

A popular and frequently used piece of both of the last two CBA's, the amnesty provision has outlived its usefulness in the current agreement. It appears likely that it will be a part of the next Collective Bargaining Agreement (likely coming in 2017) in some form. Read more »

In many cases, the terms Team Option and Non-Guaranteed contracts are used interchangeably but this is not actually the case. Here's how we can clear up the misconceptions. Read more »