The NBA’s new CBA has a number of surprising ways that a team can become hard-capped. Make a sign-and-trade? That’s a hard-capping. Use the mid-level exception? That’s a hard-capping. Take back more than 110% in salary in a trade while over the salary cap? You better believe that’s a hard-capping.
So is buying a second-round pick, which hard-capped the Golden State Warriors at the second apron, roughly $189.5 million. Unlike the normal, soft salary cap, which has plenty of exceptions to its limits, the hard cap is a strict limit. More of a hard hat than a cap, really.