I've seen a few incorrect assumptions about S&T's in other threads, and didn't want to start hijacking them with rules debates. (I'm getting everything from the Coon CBA #89-91) Basics: 1. An RFA cannot be S&T'd after he signs an offer sheet. (Remember Batum last year: MIN was trying to get POR to go for a S&T before Batum signed, b/c afterward they'd just match and MIN would get nothing). If you want to try to work out an S&T, make sure the player doesn't sign anything. 2. The team receiving the player cannot be above the "apron" ($4 million above the tax level) after the trade. A team above the apron can receive a player in a sign-and-trade if the trade reduces the team's payroll and the team finishes the trade below the apron. Example: L*kers can S&T Howard to a team as long as they are below the apron after the trade and meet other requirements below. They cannot receive a S&T'd player back, but they can receive a player who meets normal trade rules. (So LAL could send a S^T'd Howard to HOU for Asik, for instance, b/c they are not receiving the S&T'd player, and they are not taking back more than 125% +100k of Howard's salary.) 3. the team cannot receive a player in a sign-and-trade if they have used the Taxpayer Mid-Level exception that season (additionally, the "apron"--$4M above tax level--becomes a "hard cap" that they are not allowed to exceed if they receive an S&T'd player) 4. Sign-and-trade contracts must be for at least three seasons (not including any option year) and no longer than four seasons. The first year of the contract must be fully guaranteed, but the remaining seasons can be non-guaranteed. 5. a player receives the same contract via sign-and-trade (four years, 4.5% raises) that he could get by signing with his new team directly, and can receive a larger Bird contract only if he stays with his previous team. So LAL can't sign Howard to a 5-yr max with max 7.5% raises (that they could give him if they signed him themselves) and trade him. If he's S&T'd, then he only gets a max of 4yr/4.5% raises. I think this covered most of the confusion/misconceptions. If you still have questions after this, please ask!
Nice write-up. re: #1, it's easy to see why there are misconceptions out there. If the news reports "Restricted free agent Player X has agreed to an offer sheet with Team Y" but that report comes out during the moratorium, they can still be S&T'd (as your reference to Batum's situation perfectly illustrates). In almost every sense, news that comes out during the moratorium is as good as official, as the paperwork are mere formalities. This is a very important exception, where "agreeing" and "signing" are very different things!
The one question that seems to have popped up in other threads that I don't see addressed here is whether or not a S/T player can be packaged with another player on that same team, or if anything like that would need to be done in separate deals. For instance, if Houston wanted us to S/T JJ Hickson as part of a deal for Asik, but they also wanted Leonard, could we package the two together?
Yes. As long as it meets "normal" trade requirements in terms of salary going back, etc. That's a change in the new CBA.
