Celtics complete sign-and-trade, send Gordon Hayward to Hornets for massive trade exception - The Boston Globe
The exception could be quite useful in reshaping this Boston roster that does not have any older veterans on expiring contracts to use in trades. Without an exception, the Celtics would be unable to acquire a high-salary player in a trade without shipping out a similar amount of salary, and that would necessitate breaking up their core group.
Typically, trade exceptions expire after one year, but this one could be erased a bit earlier due to the league’s murky calendar, according to league source. Nevertheless, it is expected to be valid through several weeks of free agency next offseason, giving Boston plenty of opportunities to cash it in. The majority of trade exceptions expire without being used.
The exception can be broken into parts. If, for example, the Celtics used the Hayward exception to acquire a player making $20 million, they would still have an $8 million exception remaining. Boston acquired two much smaller exceptions this month when it traded Enes Kanter and Vincent Poirier, but exceptions cannot be combined for a single player. Trade exceptions also cannot be combined with players in a deal.
The Celtics’ signings of center Tristan Thompson and point guard Jeff Teague should now be finalized in short order. Thompson on Saturday posted a picture on Instagram of himself on a private jet with a caption of an arrow pointing to a shamrock emoji, indicating that he was Boston bound.