Big D By The Numbers: Payroll, Net Rating and Flagg's Rookie…

By the Mavericks Nightly Desk · Tuesday, September 22

Dallas enters camp at $197.9 million in salary, below a $200.4 million tax threshold, coming off a 26-56 season and a -5.2 net rating. Cooper Flagg's rookie averages and last season's best five-man lineup set the bar this group needs to clear now.

The Payroll Number

Dallas' payroll sits at $197.9 million against a $200.4 million tax threshold, meaning the front office has room before real consequences hit. Irving's $39.5 million is the single largest deal, with 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 rounding out the top five. That figure says Dallas is over the cap but not stuck; it says nothing about whether the current group, still filling out with camp invites, is the one that finishes the year.

The Net Rating Number

Last season Dallas finished at a -5.2 net rating, built on a 110.3 offense and a 115.5 defense, a combination that ranked 22nd of 30 teams league-wide, with the 27th-ranked offense and the 19th-ranked defense, and produced a 26-56 record. That number explains why last season ended where it did. It does not forecast this season, since Dusty May now runs the bench and Willie Green has joined him there.

The Flagg Number

Cooper Flagg averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists across 70 games as a 19-year-old rookie, while shooting 29.5 percent from three. The lineup of Washington, Gafford, Christie and Flagg with a fifth starter posted a net rating of +2.2 across 14 games and 73 minutes last season, a real signal but a shallow one.

What is the Mavericks' payroll for 2026-27?

Dallas sits at $197.9 million in salary, below the $200.4 million tax threshold, with a $39.5 million deal for Kyrie Irving as the largest on the books.

How did Cooper Flagg perform as a rookie last season?

Flagg averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists over 70 games, though his three-point shooting sat at 29.5 percent.

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.