Remember, that TPEs can't be combined with anything. (Not even other trade exceptions.) [So, the "Total" part is meaningless.]

TPE = Traded Player Exception = "trade exception"

Teams receive TPE when they trade one player and take back less salary than they send away. Teams don't get a TPE when they send players together, although it's often possible to reconfigure a multiplayer trade as separate, parallel single-player trades in order to gain trade exceptions.

Its hard to review the history of TPEs in the league transactions records because no one keeps a careful record on their use. Believe me, I checked and scrambled the web for hours. I plundered through all the old trades in the past year and couldn't find anything of significance.

The three best uses of TPE are the Lebron James $14.2 million TPE, Lamar Odom $8.9 million TPE, and the Rashard Lewis $9 million TPE.

• The Lebron James TPE was used to get Baron Davis's $13.9 million contract. Then the Cavs amnestied Davis. In exchange, the Clippers gave a draft pick. The draft pick was #1 Kylie Irving. By the way.. Cavs used their lottery pick on #4 Tristan Thompson.
• The Lamar Odom TPE was used to obtain Steve Nash. That's why Nash is being paid $8.9 million in his first year.
• Discovered by L Magico: Read there.

So far, Hennigan utilized the Ryan Anderson $4.35 million TPE and most of the Brandon Bass $4.25 million TPE to pull off the Dwight Howard trade. Trade exceptions can prove to be more valuable than cap space. But it all depends on the craftiness of the management.

These are other TPEs which I discovered after posting:

• $16.5 million Amare Stoudemire TPE through a sign-and-trade from Phoenix to NYK. Phoenix converted the TPE to obtain Hakim Warrick and Josh Childress. The rest expired in July 2011. Childress was later amnestied.
  
• $14.5 million Chris Bosh TPE through a sign-and-trade from Toronto to Miami. Toronto converted the TPE to David Andersen and James Johnson. And they had to relinquish a 2011 1st rounder (#28- Norris Cole) to acquire Johnson. $10.5 million of the TPE expired.
  
• $13.5 million Carlos Boozer TPE through a sign-and-trade from Utah to Chicago. Utah converted it to Al Jefferson.
• $10.8 million Mehmet Okur TPE was used to acquire Mo Williams.
• $7.6 million Leandro Barbosa TPE and a 2013 Toronto 1st rounder were used to acquire Kyle Lowry. The rest was waived so Toronto could have the cap space to sign Landry Fields.