LA Clippers’ potential exceptions
So, if the Clippers are over the cap to begin with and re-sign their own players, how do they add anyone to the roster?
It all comes down to exceptions.
Mid-Level Exception
This is the one everyone is familiar with but you might not understand it entirely. For the 2020-21 season, the Clippers have a Mid-Level Exception in the amount of $9,258,000.
That is to say, they can sign a player (or players) up to that amount while they are over the salary cap but below the apron. The amount of this MLE is counted when calculating whether or not they are above the apron. The apron is $138,928,000. If the MLE along with other signings takes them above that number, they cannot use the MLE and would instead have to use the Tax-Payer MLE, which is only around $5 million.
The MLE can be used on one player or multiple but the two player’s salaries cannot total more than that $9 million figure. For the Clippers, it probably makes more sense to try and use the whole thing on a single player in order to bring in a higher-value target. Think of someone like Serge Ibaka as a possible candidate. The MLE can be used to sign someone for up to four years.
Veteran’s Minimum
Once the Clips have re-signed their own guys and used their MLE, only one option remains to shore up their roster – the veteran’s minimum contract.
The veteran’s minimum is the least amount you can pay a player and it scales based on their time in the league. While that matters for the players, it doesn’t for the teams as much. Teams can sign veteran minimum deals to fill out their roster giving them options. For a team with championship aspirations like the Clippers, these contracts can be useful for older players who are chasing rings. Joakim Noah, for example, was signed using a minimum last season. Teams won’t necessarily get the cream of the crop but they can potentially get solid rotational pieces.
The cap is a lot more complicated but I hope this brief rundown at least gets you thinking about the right stuff. With all that in mind, let’s start looking towards free agency. What moves do you want the LA Clippers to make? Let us know on Twitter and continue to follow along here for all your LA Clippers’ news, rumors, and more!