One of the goals of the NBA's latest Collective Bargaining Agreement is to curb spending. The higher a team's payroll, the fewer tools they have. The NBA has a soft cap, which allows teams to spend without limit, provided they have the tools (more formally, "exceptions") to do so. But certain exceptions will trigger hard spending limits at the first ($178.1 million) or second ($188.9 million) aprons. Once a team chooses to have a hard cap, it cannot, under any circumstance, climb above it. Similarly, if a team is above an apron, it cannot use an exception that would trigger that spending limit. The first apron is triggered by the use of the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (NTMLE), Bi-Annual Exception (BAE) or from acquiring a player via sign-and-trade (S&T). The second apron is triggered by using the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (TMLE). Additionally, teams above the apron cannot use the Expanded [Read More]