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The Big D Breakdown · Cap watch

Cap Watch: Room Before The Tax, Not Much Draft Capital Left

Dallas sits under the tax line with $39.5M tied to Kyrie Irving and draft picks swapped away through 2030.

$197.9MTotal Payrollover the cap, under the tax
$200.4MLuxury Tax LineDallas sits below this line
$209.0MFirst Apronsecond apron sits at $221.7M
$39.5MIrving's Salarylargest cap number on the roster
By the Mavericks Nightly Desk · Sunday, October 11

Dallas carries $197.9M in payroll, over the $165.0M salary cap but still under the $200.4M luxury tax line, with the first apron sitting at $209.0M and the second at $221.7M. Kyrie Irving's $39.5M is the largest number on the roster, and his deal carries a $42.4M player option for 2027-28.

$197.9M: Total Payroll

Where The Payroll Stands

Dallas enters the season at $197.9M in total payroll, over the cap and under the tax by status. The salary cap sits at $165.0M, so this roster runs well above the baseline threshold. The luxury tax line sits at $200.4M, and Dallas sits below it, leaving room before this group crosses into tax territory. The first apron sits at $209.0M and the second at $221.7M, both still out of reach at the current number. That gap is room to work with in-season, not a signal this front office plans to spend into the tax.

The Five Biggest Deals

Kyrie Irving's $39.5M is the largest cap number on the roster, well clear of P.J. Washington's $19.8M, Klay Thompson's $17.5M, Daniel Gafford's $17.3M and Santi Aldama's $17.0M. Those five deals alone account for well over half the $197.9M total. Irving holds a $42.4M player option for 2027-28, a number that would push the payroll higher if he picks it up. Cooper Flagg's rookie-scale $14.5M this season is a bargain by comparison, and it only rises to $15.2M next year, the kind of cost control that gives Dallas room to build around him.

Draft Capital Tangle

The draft sheet is where this front office's flexibility actually gets tested. Dallas's 2027 first is protected and owed to Charlotte, and the 2028, 2029 and 2030 firsts are all swaps rather than outright Dallas picks. Second-round picks are owed to the Clippers in 2028 and to Brooklyn in both 2029 and 2030. That leaves Dallas without a clean, unprotected first-round asset to trade for several years, a real constraint if a win-now move comes calling before this group proves itself.

Are the Mavericks over the salary cap?

Yes. Dallas carries $197.9M in payroll, above the $165.0M salary cap but still under the $200.4M luxury tax line.

What happens to Dallas's future first-round picks?

The 2027 first is protected and owed to Charlotte, while the 2028, 2029 and 2030 firsts are all swaps rather than outright Dallas selections.

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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