What Can Celtics Do With Trade Exception From Hayward Deal?

The Boston Celtics were able to get something for Gordon Hayward after all, as the team sent Hayward and two future 2nd round picks to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for a traded player exception.

What does that mean exactly? Well, it means that for the next 365 days - or at least through the first three weeks of free agency in the 2021 off-season because of the NBA's pandemic-shifted calendar - the Celtics can receive a player, or players, in trades without needing to send out salary to match.

The TPE, which is the largest in NBA history and was believed to be in the range of $27mil-to-$32.4mil, is actually closer to the $27+mil figure as the Celtics have reached the hard cap line following the additions of Tristan Thompson and Jeff Teague. The hard cap means they cannot exceed the number (roughly $158mil) by a single penny, reducing the TPE in the neighborhood of $27mil.

One thing to note is that Boston cannot combine TPE's (they have received two others this off-season, one for Enes Kanter -$5mil- and one for Vincent Poirier - $2.5mil) but they can use portions of the $27mil TPE received in the Hayward deal on multiple player acquisitions.

John Karalis, who covers the C's for MassLive.com, joined The Drive on Monday to break down exactly what the added play money means for the Celtics and how they may attempt to cash in.