Here's an interesting situation I've not yet been in:

I took over a new team with a ton of salary commitments (max deals, no-trade clauses, etc.)  I set my budget to just over what I needed for this year (S23), thinking I'd immediately trade some pricy players during pre-FA and arb.  

However, my salary for the NEXT season (S24) is 11M over the cap.  (I'm surprised that  HBD allowed me to set my initial budget to allow this, but I guess it only takes into account the current season.)

Now, whenever I try to propose a trade, I get the "would be voided due to your S24 salary" warning, even if I'm actually reducing that number.   

Is my only option to first make a move that clears 11M off the books in S24?

 

And I doubt you can sign FA beyond one year.   

The good news is that you have 3 players making more than 11m in S24 so you don't have to put 2-3 players in a deal to make it happen.

Very good point.  I traded the 12M guy.   I get confused on how trade timing works.   Am I free to trade at this point, because the one that was already accepted will process first (assuming no vetoing)?  Or do I need to wait til next cycle, because they're processed simultaneously?

I thought the first trade would be voided.  If so, trade away. 

The initial trade (where I saw the warning) didn't actually get accepted, I withdrew it.  Thanks again for the help!