Dallas has a $197.9M payroll, which is over the $165.0M cap but still below the $200.4M luxury tax. The real flexibility comes next summer, and it depends mostly on options that other people control.
Very Little Room Left
The Mavericks are over the $165.0M cap and just below the $200.4M tax line, and the cap sheet is top-heavy. Kyrie Irving makes $39.5M. P.J. Washington makes $19.8M, Klay Thompson $17.5M, Daniel Gafford $17.3M and Santi Aldama $17.0M. Hoops Rumors, citing Marc Stein, reported that Dallas is considered likely to sign Walter Clayton. Any signing like that has to fit in the space left below the tax, and the $209.0M first apron sits not far above it. Cooper Flagg at $14.5M is the best-value contract on the sheet.
What Comes Off Next Summer
Thompson's $17.5M, Lively's $7.2M and Marcus Sasser's $5.2M have no 2027-28 figure, so that money comes off the books. Other contracts go up. Naji Marshall rises from $9.4M to $18.2M, Zaccharie Risacher from $13.8M to $17.4M, and Flagg to $15.2M. Irving's $42.4M is a player option, and so are Caleb Martin's $9.4M and Max Christie's $8.9M. That means three decisions belong to the players. Dallas holds team options on Aldama at $17.0M and Tarik Biberovic at $3.0M. Mavs Moneyball reported that the Mavericks passed on a Lively extension, so his status is an open front-office question too.
The Picks Won't Help Much
Draft picks offer little relief. The 2027 first-rounder is protected to Charlotte. The firsts from 2028 through 2030 are all swaps. The second-rounders are owed to the Clippers in 2028 and to Brooklyn in 2029 and 2030, and the 2027 second is a swap. A team coming off a 26-56 season with a -5.2 net rating can't trade picks to get better. Any improvement has to come from Flagg's development, from the options next summer, and from staying below $200.4M while doing it.
Are the Dallas Mavericks over the luxury tax in 2026-27?
No. Their payroll is $197.9M, which is over the $165.0M salary cap but below the $200.4M luxury tax line.
Can Kyrie Irving opt out of his Mavericks contract?
Yes. His 2027-28 salary of $42.4M is a player option, so Irving decides whether he stays on that number.
