Sign-and-Trade: the signing and transfer in the NBA

El Sign-and-Trade, the signing and transfer formula, is a mechanism used in the NBA to carry out some transfer operations of a player from one place to another. He Sign-and-Trade It occurs when a franchise renews a free agent and, immediately afterwards, transfers him to another team. However, there are a series of premises and conditions that regulate this type of actions.

1. The contract resulting from Sign-and-Trade It can be for any amount up to the maximum salary, but it must last three or four seasons.
2. The free agent must be renewed and transferred exclusively by the team with which he finished the season.
3. If the free agent is restricted and his last team matches an offer made by another franchise, and retains him, this operation does not fall within the rules of the Sign-and-Trade and, therefore, once renewed and retained it cannot be transferred.
4. A team that is above the Luxury Tax Apron, that is, the amount above the luxury tax, a player cannot acquire through Sign-and-Trade. For 2017-18, the luxury tax is located at 119.266.000 million dollars and the apron in 6 million more, 125.266.000.
5. In that sense, a team that acquires a player through the Signature and Transfer model cannot have used the taxpayer mid-level exception, yes used by teams that have passed the apron in other types of operations.
6. A free agent cannot be the result of a Sign-and-Trade once the season has started.
7. The free agent cannot be signed using the mid-level exception or any other exception that prevents a three-year contract.

Un Sign-and-Trade It is irreversible. If a franchise agrees with the player to carry out this operation, it must be completed and cannot stop at the intermediate point of renewing him and then not transferring him to the team previously agreed upon with the player.

If a contract born of Sign-and-Trade contains bonuses for signing the agreement, these amounts are generally paid to the player by the new team he joins. Transfer bonuses usually have an effect on subsequent transactions.

What do you gain with a Sign-and-Trade?

Many times, these types of companies are seen more as a favor that the player does for his team than as something beneficial for himself. Because the franchise that extends a Sign-and-Trade I was going to lose the player in free agency. Thus, you can receive something in exchange for a piece that you would not be able to keep and that, without Sign-and-Trade, I would see him walk away without any compensation.

In the case of the player himself, the benefits are somewhat smaller, since he loses certain rights that he had or could have acquired had he remained in the previous franchise (receiving a Designated Veteran contract, For example). In addition, the salary that you will receive once you complete the Sign-and-Trade It will not be greater than what he would have obtained if he had gone to free agency (four years maximum, with annual increases of 5%). A player looking for a Sign-and-Trade You must agree with two teams, the one of origin and the destination, instead of with one if you were a free agent. He usually looks for this type of agreement if the franchise where he wants to join is above the salary cap and cannot enroll him directly. Therefore, here the tool of signing and transferring is something useful for your interests.

With the current collective agreement, the number of operations of this type has decreased, since the benefits that the player obtains from them are much lower than the income they obtained previously.