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The Big D Breakdown · Cap watch

Cap Watch: Dallas Has Room Under The Tax, Not Much Past It

Dallas carries $197.9M against a $200.4M tax threshold, with Klay Thompson's deal set to clear out next summer.

$197.9MTeam Payrollover the cap, below the tax threshold
$200.4MTax Thresholdline Dallas sits just under
$209.0MFirst Apronhard-cap restrictions start here
$39.5MIrving's Cap Hitlargest contract on the books
By the Mavericks Nightly Desk · Sunday, October 18

Dallas enters the season with a $197.9 million payroll, over the $165.0 million salary cap yet still below the $200.4 million tax threshold. The bigger story is what happens next: Klay Thompson's $17.5 million comes off the books, and almost every future first-round pick is tied up in swaps or debts to other teams.

$197.9M: Team Payroll

Where The Number Sits

The Mavericks are carrying $197.9 million across 18 contracts, past the $165.0 million salary cap and just under the $200.4 million tax threshold. That gap is this front office's whole operating budget for in-season moves, a trade exception, a buyout signing, maybe a two-way flier, but nothing that pushes Dallas into tax territory. Kyrie Irving's deal anchors the number at $39.5 million, with P.J. Washington's $19.8 million and Klay Thompson's $17.5 million right behind it.

The Apron Still Looms

Even with room under the tax threshold, the real ceiling sits higher: a first apron at $209.0 million and a second at $221.7 million, each carrying its own roster-building restrictions. Dallas isn't close to either line yet, but the 2027-28 cap sheet already shows why that could change — Irving's player option jumps to $42.4 million, Washington's salary rises to $21.4 million, and Naji Marshall's deal climbs to $18.2 million. Cooper Flagg's rookie-scale number, just $14.5 million this season, is the only thing keeping the sheet manageable.

What Clears, What's Owed

Thompson's $17.5 million is the one true relief valve: it's the lone top-five salary missing from the 2027-28 sheet, meaning it clears next summer. The draft books tell a tighter story. Dallas holds swap rights on its 2027 second-round pick and its 2028, 2029 and 2030 first-rounders, but it owes a protected 2027 first-rounder to Charlotte, a 2028 second to the Clippers, and 2029 and 2030 seconds to Brooklyn — control over its own future is shared, not owned outright.

Are the Mavericks over the salary cap for 2026-27?

Dallas's $197.9 million payroll clears the $165.0 million salary cap yet stays below the $200.4 million tax threshold.

Which Mavericks contract comes off the books after this season?

Klay Thompson's $17.5 million is the only one of the team's top five salaries absent from the 2027-28 cap sheet.

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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