{"id":920265,"date":"2026-07-08T06:24:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T06:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/920265\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T06:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T06:24:16","slug":"sorting-out-the-six-team-trade-involving-stewart-aldama-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/920265\/","title":{"rendered":"Sorting Out The Six-Team Trade Involving Stewart, Aldama, Others"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After initially reporting <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hoopsrumors.com\/2026\/07\/wizards-to-sign-khris-middleton-trade-dangelo-russell-to-grizzlies.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">earlier tonight<\/a> that the <strong>Wizards<\/strong>\u2018 sign-and-trade acquisition of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/middlkh01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.hoopsrumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-07-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Khris Middleton<\/a><\/strong> would be combined with several separate trade agreements to form a single six-team mega-deal, Ohm Youngmisuk, with the help of colleague Shams Charania, has laid out the terms of that trade in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/49301627\/khris-middleton-back-wizards-2nd-stint-6-team-sign-trade-deal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">a full story for ESPN.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There are a few new details within ESPN\u2019s report, including the Clippers receiving a protected 2028 second-round pick from the Pistons while sending cash to the Bucks, which will help ensure that all six teams \u201ctouch\u201d at least two other clubs in the deal. However, the story doesn\u2019t include the specifics on each of the draft assets involved in the trade.<\/p>\n<p>Based on ESPN\u2019s reporting, several previous reports, and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/basketball.realgm.com\/nba\/draft\/future_drafts\/detailed\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">RealGM\u2019s tracker of traded draft picks<\/a>, here\u2019s our best shot at what the final deal will look like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Santi-Aldama-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-468486\"  \/>Mavericks<\/strong> to acquire:\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Grizzlies<\/strong> to acquire:\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stewais01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.hoopsrumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-06-25_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Isaiah Stewart<\/a><\/strong> (from Pistons)<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/johnsaj01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.hoopsrumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-07-01_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">AJ Johnson<\/a><\/strong> (from Mavericks)<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/russeda01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.hoopsrumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-07-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/a><\/strong> (from Wizards)<\/li>\n<li>The Warriors\u2019 2030 first-round pick (top-20 protected; from Mavericks)<\/li>\n<li>The Rockets\u2019 2029 second-round pick (from Mavericks)<\/li>\n<li>The Lakers\u2019 2029 second-round pick (from Wizards)<\/li>\n<li>The Wizards\u2019 2033 second-round pick (from Wizards)<\/li>\n<li>A 2032 second-round pick swap (from Wizards)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pistons<\/strong> to acquire:\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=collijo01,collijo02&amp;search=John+Collins&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.hoopsrumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-07-01_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">John Collins<\/a><\/strong> (via sign-and-trade; from Clippers)\n<ul>\n<li>Note: Collins is reportedly signing a three-year, $51MM contract.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/princta02.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.hoopsrumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-07-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Taurean Prince<\/a><\/strong> (from Bucks)<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/harriga01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.hoopsrumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-07-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Gary Harris<\/a><\/strong> (from Bucks)<\/li>\n<li>Either the Pistons\u2019, Knicks\u2019, or Bucks\u2019 2029 second-round pick (whichever is second-most favorable; from Grizzlies)<\/li>\n<li>The Mavericks\u2019 2031 second-round pick (from Grizzlies)<\/li>\n<li>The Pistons\u2019 2032 second-round pick (from Grizzlies)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bucks<\/strong> to acquire:\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leverca01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.hoopsrumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-07-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Caris LeVert <\/a><\/strong>(from Pistons)<\/li>\n<li>The Bucks\u2019 2027 second-round pick (from Pistons)<\/li>\n<li>Either the Mavericks\u2019 or Nets\u2019 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Pistons)<\/li>\n<li>Cash (from Clippers)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wizards<\/strong> to acquire:\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/middlkh01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.hoopsrumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-07-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Khris Middleton<\/a><\/strong> (via sign-and-trade; from Mavericks)\n<ul>\n<li>Note: Middleton is reportedly signing a three-year, $17.6MM contract.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Mavericks\u2019 2033 second-round pick (from Mavericks)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clippers<\/strong> to acquire:\n<ul>\n<li>A protected 2028 second-round pick (from Pistons)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The deal isn\u2019t yet official and therefore this breakdown should also be considered unofficial. But the final version of the trade should look pretty similar to this.<\/p>\n<p>The deal has been two weeks in the making \u2014 the Grizzlies and Pistons first <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hoopsrumors.com\/2026\/06\/pistons-trading-isaiah-stewart-to-grizzlies-for-second-round-picks.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">worked out a trade<\/a> involving Stewart during the second night of the NBA draft on June 24. That was followed on July 1 by the Pistons and Clippers <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hoopsrumors.com\/2026\/07\/pistons-to-sign-john-collins-to-three-year-deal.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">coming together on a Collins sign-and-trade<\/a> and the Grizzlies and Mavericks <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hoopsrumors.com\/2026\/07\/grizzlies-to-trade-santi-aldama-to-mavericks.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">agreeing to terms on an Aldama deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Then, earlier on Tuesday, the Bucks and Pistons <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hoopsrumors.com\/2026\/07\/pistons-to-trade-levert-second-rounders-to-bucks-for-prince-harris.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">reached an agreement<\/a> on a trade involving LeVert, Prince, and Harris, the Mavs <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hoopsrumors.com\/2026\/07\/wizards-to-sign-khris-middleton-trade-dangelo-russell-to-grizzlies.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">made a deal<\/a> to sign-and-trade Middleton to the Wizards, and Washington agreed to salary-dump Russell to Memphis.<\/p>\n<p>While most of those agreements could\u2019ve been officially completed as separate deals, rolling them all into one will provide some cap benefits for various clubs.<\/p>\n<p>For example, had they completed their Aldama deal directly with the Grizzlies, the Mavericks would have had to use most of their $20.8MM <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisan02.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.hoopsrumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-07-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Anthony Davis<\/a><\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hoopsrumors.com\/2012\/02\/outstanding-trade-exceptions.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">traded player exception<\/a> to accommodate the Spaniard\u2019s incoming $17MM salary, since they were only sending Johnson ($3.2MM) to Memphis in that deal.<\/p>\n<p>But including Middleton and aggregating his outgoing salary (roughly $5.6MM) with Johnson\u2019s will be enough to meet the salary-matching requirements for Aldama, allowing Dallas to preserve that full $20.8MM Davis TPE. The Mavs can then use their bi-annual exception to absorb Sasser\u2019s $5.2MM salary.<\/p>\n<p>Memphis is in a similar boat. If they\u2019d just acquired Stewart from Detroit in a straight-up deal, the Grizzlies would have needed to use over half of the $28.9MM exception they created in February when they traded <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jacksja02.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.hoopsrumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-07-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jaren Jackson Jr.<\/a><\/strong> to Utah. But by folding in their Aldama deal and using his outgoing salary to legally match Stewart ($15MM), Johnson ($3.2MM), and Russell ($6MM), they can keep that full Jackson TPE intact.<\/p>\n<p>The Pistons, meanwhile, will be able to use LeVert\u2019s outgoing salary ($14.8MM) for matching purposes to acquire Collins, whose deal figures to start in the $16-18MM range. That will allow them to create new trade exceptions equivalent to Stewart\u2019s ($15MM) and Sasser\u2019s ($5.2MM) outgoing salaries.<\/p>\n<p>The Wizards have a trade exception expiring this Thursday that still has $5,341,122 left on it after the team used part of it to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hoopsrumors.com\/2026\/07\/lakers-trading-deandre-ayton-to-wizards.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">absorb<\/a> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/aytonde01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.hoopsrumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-07-07_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Deandre Ayton<\/a><\/strong>\u2018s $8.1MM salary on Tuesday. Washington will be able to use the rest of that exception before it expires to give Middleton a starting salary of $5,591,122 (the amount of the exception, plus a $250K buffer), then will create a new trade exception worth Russell\u2019s outgoing salary (nearly $6MM).<\/p>\n<p>The Clippers will also generate a trade exception worth Collins\u2019 new salary (roughly $16-18MM).<\/p>\n<p>When the dust settles, all six teams will be hard-capped at the first tax apron, notes Keith Smith of Spotrac (<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KeithSmithNBA\/status\/2074677077643612236\" rel=\"nofollow\">Twitter link<\/a>). The Pistons, Clippers, and Wizards faced first-apron hard caps already, based on prior transactions, while the Mavericks, Grizzlies, and Bucks will all join them as a result of using the \u201cexpanded traded exception\u201d (ie. taking back more than 100% of a player\u2019s \u2013 or players\u2019 \u2013 salary) in the deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After initially reporting earlier tonight that the Wizards\u2018 sign-and-trade acquisition of Khris Middleton would be combined with several&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":920266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[10],"tags":[219593,26476,23296,17658,261972,36252,23227,138358,25871,62,371519,25869,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-920265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-aj-johnson","tag-caris-levert","tag-dangelo-russell","tag-gary-harris","tag-isaiah-stewart","tag-john-collins","tag-khris-middleton","tag-marcus-sasser","tag-santi-aldama","tag-sports","tag-tarik-biberovic","tag-taurean-prince","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116882930747297468","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/920266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=920265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}