NBA salary-cap glossary
A line the team literally cannot spend past for the rest of the season — no exceptions, no workarounds.
CBA 2023 Art. VII §2 (hard-cap triggers)
Rulebook entry: aprons.prior-triggered-hard-cap
Using certain exceptions or receiving a player in a sign-and-trade hard-caps a team at an apron for the season; the engine remembers the trigger and refuses any trade that would cross the line.
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