It was my belief that the hard cap was $96,000,000. I was told that by another GM here (can't remember who it was though, and I've deleted a bunch of my early PMs), and when I glanced at the "hard cap rules" thread, I only saw the $96,000,000 (bolded) figure, and didn't look at the years covered. Below that, I now see the (non-bolded) $90 million. I'd also like to note that the hard cap figure does not appear on the league's rules page.
I'd appreciate having until the trade deadline to get below the cap.
That's the reason why I'm giving you until the trade deadline. In future, it would be best for you to check for rule clarification with myself, ClippersGM, or CelticsGM to eliminate any miscommunication.