The Big Question: Is Dallas Spending Like A Contender Or…

By the Mavericks Nightly Desk · Saturday, October 3

Dallas spent $197.9 million this summer, above the $165.0 million cap and below the $200.4 million tax line, on a roster built to win immediately. Last season's 26-56 finish, a draft-pick cupboard swapped away through 2030 and lineup data that swings wildly around Cooper Flagg say the answer is not that simple.

Mavericks Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

The Case For Now

Dusty May's roster costs $197.9 million across 18 contracts, above the $165.0 million salary cap and below the $200.4 million tax line. Kyrie Irving ($39.5 million), P.J. Washington ($19.8 million), Klay Thompson ($17.5 million) and Daniel Gafford ($17.3 million) are paid like players brought in to win, not to lose for lottery odds. General manager Nico Harrison justified trading Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis by saying, "I believe that defense wins championships," and that line still defines how this roster was built.

The Case For Patience

Last season Dallas went 26-56, 22nd in point differential with the 27th-ranked offense and the 19th-ranked defense. The Mavericks have swapped, protected or owed away nearly every first-round pick through 2030, including a 2027 first protected to Charlotte, leaving little room to retool if the roster does not work. Cooper Flagg, the centerpiece, is 19 and entering his second season after averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists as a rookie — the profile of a player teams build around for years, not one season.

What The Lineups Show

Last season's best Flagg lineup — Washington, Gafford, Ben Williams, Christie and Flagg — outscored opponents by 2.2 points per hundred over 14 games and 73 minutes, running a 116.8 offense against a 114.6 defense. Swap in Davis, Marshall and Nembhard for Washington and Gafford, and the same Christie-Flagg pairing got outscored by 10.9 points per hundred over 11 games, with the offense sinking to 110.3 and the defense cratering to 121.2. That gap, inside the same small sample, is the real answer: Dallas is built to win with the right four around Flagg, not with any four, and training camp absences for Irving, Lively, Aldama and Johnson mean May still has not found that group.

Is Dallas trying to win now or rebuild around Cooper Flagg?

The $197.9 million payroll and veterans like Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson say win now, but last season's 26-56 finish and a thin crop of future first-round picks say the Mavericks are still building around a 19-year-old Flagg.

How many first-round draft picks do the Mavericks control through 2030?

Almost none outright — Dallas has swapped, protected or owed away nearly every first-round pick from 2027 through 2030, including a 2027 first protected to Charlotte.

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.