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The Big D Breakdown · Cap watch

Cap Watch: Dallas Sits $2.5M Below the Tax Line

The payroll math behind Dusty May's roster, and how thin the draft cupboard has gotten.

$197.9MTeam Payrollover the cap, below the tax line
$200.4MLuxury Tax Linejust $2.5M of cushion left
$39.5MLargest ContractKyrie Irving, the roster's biggest number
$221.7MSecond Apronstill a distant ceiling
By the Mavericks Nightly Desk · Thursday, September 17

Dallas carries $197.9 million in payroll, over the $165.0 million salary cap but $2.5 million shy of the $200.4 million luxury tax line. Kyrie Irving's $39.5 million anchors the books, and the Mavericks have converted most of their first-round picks through 2030 into swaps or protections.

$197.9M: Team Payroll

The Tax Line Math

Dallas opens the year at $197.9 million in salary across 18 contracts, comfortably past the $165.0 million cap but only $2.5 million under the $200.4 million luxury tax. The first apron sits at $209.0 million and the second at $221.7 million, both distant enough that they are not the immediate concern. Crossing the tax line itself is the number to watch as the front office fills out the back of the roster this fall.

Who Carries The Number

Kyrie Irving's $39.5 million is the largest single salary on the roster, followed by P.J. Washington at $19.8 million, Klay Thompson at $17.5 million, Daniel Gafford at $17.3 million and Santi Aldama at $17.0 million. Those five contracts alone account for well over half the payroll. Washington arrived from Charlotte and Gafford from Washington, so three of the five largest deals were built through trades rather than free agency. Decision points arrive fast: Irving can opt into $42.4 million for 2027-28, Aldama's $17.0 million team option comes up the same summer, and Caleb Martin and Max Christie both hold player options worth $9.4 million and $8.9 million.

A Thin Draft Cupboard

Dallas has turned nearly every future first-round pick into a swap or a protected selection running through 2030, leaving little separate draft capital to work with. Second-round picks are already spoken for too: the 2028 second goes to the Clippers, and the Nets are owed the seconds in both 2029 and 2030. Whatever margin this front office has for a future trade will have to come from the salary sheet, not the draft board.

Are the Mavericks over the salary cap this season?

Yes, Dallas carries $197.9 million in payroll against a $165.0 million cap, though that number sits $2.5 million below the $200.4 million luxury tax line.

Who has the largest contract on the Mavericks?

Kyrie Irving's $39.5 million salary is the biggest on the roster, ahead of P.J. Washington's $19.8 million and Klay Thompson's $17.5 million.

By the Mavericks Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.

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