What does hard-capped mean in the NBA? Understanding salary cap rule

The NBA offseason is officially underway, with teams around the league making big deals to bolster their rosters for the year ahead. From blockbuster trades to marquee signings, this summer has already delivered fireworks although the free agency period hasn't officially started. With teams making big moves, terms like hard cap and soft cap are being used frequently.

While some fans may be familiar with these terms, and others such as the first apron and the second apron, others may not be as familiar. The hard cap is something that terms trigger in one of three ways.

The key difference between the hard cap and the soft cap is that in the case of the soft cap, teams can cross into the first and second aprons. While these carry penalties and restrictions, they allow teams to remain flexible with their moves.

Once the hard cap is triggered, however, teams have no recourse and are forced to operate under the limit. This can be triggered in three different ways:

• When teams use non-taxpayer MLE (Mid-level exception)
• When teams use a bi-annual exception
• Or when a team acquires a player via a sign-and-trade deal.

Teams who activate the hard cap do so at one of the first two aprons. Last season, 20 teams were hard-capped at the first apron because of various deals, such as the Lakers' for example. In LA's case, the team used the non-taxpayer MLE to sign Gabe Vincent, triggering a hard cap.

Looking at NBA teams who are currently hard-capped

This offseason, several teams are already working around the hard cap. So far, the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, and Indiana Pacers are all hard-capped at the second apron.

In the case of the aforementioned teams, all of them have been hard-capped at the second apron because they sent out more cash than they received in a trade. At the same time, two teams have already been hard-capped at the first apron.

The OKC Thunder, because they took back more salary than they gave out as part of the Josh Giddey-Alex Caruso trade with Chicago. In addition, the Houston Rockets are also capped at the first apron because of an exception as part of the AJ Griffin acquisition.

As we've seen in years past, however, teams around the NBA will likely wind up hard-capped as we approach the start of the regular season.

Specifically, once free agency begins on Jul. 1 and teams start to negotiate with unrestricted free agents, we'll see more and more teams hard-capped. As to which teams wind up capped at the first NBA apron, and which teams get capped at the second NBA apron, only time will tell.

Last year, for example, the Denver Nuggets notably ended up hard-capped at the second apron, which played a role in the team pursuing back-to-back titles.