Trade & FA 2025-26: Free Agency Starts 5pm CST/6pm EST

[mvossman]

It's a weird situation to try to unravel the thinking behind it. If the Mavs (ie Dumont) cared about tax, they wouldn't have done the stupid Grimes-Martin trade. There was no real benefit to that deal, and in its wake I was posting last spring about the consequences in tax (with a hope it would be the impetus to fire Nico for utter incompetence, once PD figured out how deeply Nico had hit his wallet). 

But they are kinda stuck now. I think PD may have to ride it out to some degree. It's his own fault for listening to Nico the Idiot.

Here's how bad that trade is. If they hadn't let Nico do that Martin trade last year, and we just assume an empty slot or a minimum in it for next season, the tax bill for the roster as-is (with all its A2 bumping payroll) would only be about 33M. It was a monumental error of incompetence in tax planning and roster building, and a hefty price to pay for a 3rd-string player who was damaged goods to boot.

Nico probably sold that Grimes trade as the final piece to a contender.  Who knows if the tax implications were even communicated at all.  

I wonder how much Dumont's perspective has changed.  Given his willingness to listen to offers on AD it seems like he is at least considering a rebuild.  It will be very interesting to see what his tax appetite is going to be.  I am guessing it will be low, but I really have no idea.