Cap Watch: Dallas Sits Below the Tax Line With Picks Tangled…

By the Mavericks Nightly Desk · Wednesday, October 7

Dallas is over the $165.0M salary cap at $197.9M but still under the $200.4M luxury tax, with the first and second aprons further out at $209.0M and $221.7M. Five contracts anchor the sheet, and the draft capital behind them is tied up in swaps and sends through 2030.

Where The Number Sits

Dallas carries $197.9M in payroll, over the $165.0M salary cap and still under the $200.4M luxury tax line. The margin matters: the first apron sits at $209.0M and the second at $221.7M, hard stops that come with trade and roster-building restrictions the front office wants to avoid. Staying between the tax line and that first apron keeps Dallas able to use tools apron teams lose.

The Five Biggest Deals

Kyrie Irving's $39.5M is the single largest number on the books, with P.J. Washington ($19.8M), Klay Thompson ($17.5M), Daniel Gafford ($17.3M) and Santi Aldama ($17.0M) rounding out the top five. Three of those deals carry options that shape next summer: Irving holds a $42.4M player option for 2027-28, Washington's number rises to $21.4M, and Aldama has a $17.0M team option. Cooper Flagg's rookie-scale deal, $14.5M this season, is the cheapest source of production on the roster.

Picks Scattered Through 2030

Dallas's draft capital is tangled well past this season. The 2027 first is protected and owed to Charlotte, while the firsts in 2028, 2029 and 2030 are all swaps rather than outright sends. Second-round picks are committed too, one to the Clippers in 2028 and two more to Brooklyn in 2029 and 2030, leaving Dallas with less draft-day freedom than the current record might suggest.

Is Dallas over the salary cap?

Yes. Dallas carries $197.9M in payroll against a $165.0M salary cap, though it stays under the $200.4M luxury tax line.

Which Mavericks pick is most at risk?

The 2027 first-round pick, which is protected and owed 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.