With the announcement of the All-NBA teams yesterday, a new buzzword has been thrown around a lot.

The “supermax extension.”

Players like Rudy Gobert, Kemba Walker, and Damian Lillard are all now eligible. But, eligible for what? And why can some players get it while others can’t?

Here’s everything you need to know about the NBA notorious supermax.

First of all, what is it?

What we call the “supermax extension” is what the NBA calls it the “designated veteran extension” or “designated veteran contract.” The NBA’s name helps explain it a little better since what it does is allow a team to “designate” a special kind of veteran player for a lot more money.

Define “special.” Who can get this?

A “designated veteran extension” can go to a player with seven or eight years of service with the same team (an exception is made for players traded during their first four years) and one or two years remaining on his contract.

OR...

A “designated veteran contract” can go to a player with eight or nine years of service with the same team (an exception is made for players traded during their first four years).

If a player meets that requirement, he must then also meet at least ONE of the following criteria:

- Make an All-NBA team in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.

- Be the NBA MVP in any of the three most recent seasons.

- Be named Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.

How much more money?

Up to 35 percent of the salary cap. Normally, the most a player can get is 30 percent of the salary cap.

Next season the difference between 30 percent and 35 percent is an extra $5.4 million dollars. If a player gets a supermax contract this summer with eight percent raises over five years (the maximum amount and length of contract), he’ll make an extra $32 million.

Does this affect the length of contract?

Not for a “supermax contract” (a team re-signing its own free agent who qualifies). That’s still a maximum five-year contract.

A “supermax extension” (added to the end of a current contract) can only total six years including the current contract. For example, if a player has two years remaining and signs the extension, he gets a four-year extension. If the player has one year remaining, he can get a five-year extension.

This does not affect the current contract. It’s just tacked onto the end of the current deal.

Is it automatic?

No. Those players who qualify still have to negotiate with their teams for it. The team isn’t obligated to pay it, they are just allowed to offer it.

What’s the catch?

There’s always a catch. Here are some other rules.

A player only has the summer to decide: If the Pelicans offer Anthony Davis the supermax extension, he can’t wait until the season starts to figure out if he wants to stay. He has from when the moratorium ends (June 30, 6:00 pm) until the day before the season starts to sign it, or it goes away.

A supermax player can’t be traded for one year: Let’s go back to Davis. If he signs his supermax extension, he’s a Pelican for the entire season. He can’t change his mind. Even if both the team and the player want him traded, the league rule is that he can’t for one full calendar year after signing. You can’t sign-and-trade a guy in this scenario either. Simply put, a player who signs this contract is with that team for one full year, no matter what.

A team can only have two: Remember that weird rule that meant Boston couldn’t trade for Davis during the season? It applies to this as well. A team can only have two supermax players, and only one can be acquired via trade. So if Damian Lillard and Anthony Davis both sign their supermax extension and in two years Boston suddenly has a ton of cap space, they wouldn’t be able to trade for both those guys.

This is why yesterday’s All-NBA teams were such a big deal

By making third team All-NBA, Charlotte Hornets free agent guard Kemba Walker is eligible for a supermax contract. Portland Trailblazers star Damian Lillard can get a four-year supermax extension (he has two years remaining on his current deal) for making the second team. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert will be eligible for a five-year supermax extension next summer by virtue of making the third team and being last year’s Defensive Player of the Year (combining awards is allowed).

By not making any of the teams, Klay Thompson missed out. He is a free agent this summer with eight years of service. If he really wants a supermax, he could sign a one-year deal and try again next summer. Remember, it can go to a player with eight or nine years of service, and next year will be his ninth.

Kyrie Irving does not qualify because he has only spent two years with Boston, which brings us to the final point of the supermax conversation.

The entire point of this mechanism is to encourage these special players to stay with their teams. By asking for a trade, Irving gave up the right to ask for that extra cash. That money is supposed to be his incentive to stay put.

Obviously, the supermax hasn’t quite worked out how it was designed. There’s so much money in the league that guys like Anthony Davis feel comfortable passing on the $30 million to find a situation they like better. He’ll make plenty of money as it is, and he might feel he can make that $30 million in endorsements.

Teams are also starting to feel the sting of these deals. John Wall’s supermax with the Washington Wizards is sitting in the team’s stomach like a freshly eaten atomic burrito. They’re facing $170 million worth of indigestion over the next four years, including a final-year $47 million cap hit.

The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement is a paradoxical contract. On the one hand, it’s designed to keep great players in one place for a long time. Restricted free agency gives a team the right to match offers after a player’s fourth year. A truly great player can, at the end of that second deal, sign one of these supermax contracts and stay for another five. That could mean 14 years with one team.

At the same time, the luxury tax and other penalties make difficult to afford these players and also build around them. A bad signing can be unforgiving, and more than one mistake can be crippling.

So these supermax deal can give players a monster payday, but teams need to get it right, or else they can be counterproductive.