Six-team cap maneuver turns Middleton return into mega NBA trade
Khris Middleton’s Wizards signing evolved from a straightforward sign-and-trade into a six-team, 10-player mega-deal designed to maximize cap space and preserve key exceptions. Washington used the trade exception and mid-level space, while Memphis, Milwaukee, Detroit, the Clippers and Dallas restructured via salary matching and trade exceptions to fit under the cap. The deal involves Middleton, Caris LeVert, Isaiah Stewart, Santi Aldama, John Collins, D’Angelo Russell, Marcus Sasser, AJ Johnson, Taurean Prince and Gary Harris, illustrating how teams bundle moves in the July moratorium to gain small but meaningful advantages in a tight cap environment.
