Dallas sits at 0-0, so every figure here traces back to last season's 26-56 finish. The distance between the team's best five-man unit and its worst is the clearest evidence of what Dusty May has to fix before October 21.
The Best Five Worked
Put P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, B. Williams, Max Christie and Cooper Flagg on the floor together and Dallas outscored opponents last season. That group played 73 minutes across 14 games with a net rating of plus-2.2, built on a 116.8 offense and a 114.6 defense. It is a small sample, and it is the only regular five-man group on the roster that finished in positive territory, with Flagg playing forward next to two big men in Gafford and Washington instead of at center. Dusty May found that answer over a small sample, and it points to where his rotation could start once camp opens.
Where The Defense Broke
Swap Gafford for Anthony Davis at center and the picture flips. The Davis-Marshall-Christie-Flagg-Nembhard five logged 72 minutes over 11 games last season and finished at minus-10.9, an offense of 110.3 paired with a defense that allowed 121.2 points per hundred possessions. That does not prove Davis alone was the issue; it shows a group built around him and Flagg, without Gafford or Washington on the floor, could not get stops last season, in an even smaller sample than the lineup above.
Payroll Still Fits Below The Tax
Dallas' payroll totals $197.9 million, led by Kyrie Irving's $39.5 million, P.J. Washington's $19.8 million and Klay Thompson's $17.5 million. That figure sits past the salary cap but under the $200.4 million luxury-tax line, leaving room to add before the trade deadline without tax penalties. None of that spending fixes the lineup math above by itself; last season's 26-56 finish and 22nd-ranked net rating came from a roster built much the same way.
What is Dallas' best five-man lineup from last season?
The P.J. Washington-Daniel Gafford-B. Williams-Max Christie-Cooper Flagg unit finished last season at plus-2.2 in net rating over 14 games and 73 minutes, the only lineup on the roster that finished positive.
Is Dallas over the luxury tax?
No. Dallas' payroll sits at $197.9 million against a $200.4 million luxury-tax line, past the salary cap but under the tax.
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