Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[Scott41theMavs]

While your broader point is still true, I think the specific comment in this case was more about NO being able to use a healthy portion of the MLE and still be under the tax line.  They are currently $8.2mm under the tax with 14 players.  Trading Hawkins for air is another $7.0mm which takes them to enough to offer the full MLE.  But as you've taught in the past, they have to leave a cushion.  They may also have to leave enough space for the 15th player.

If one wanted to tie several things together - because their brains just naturally do that - there is a way to get there involving LAC/NOP and DAL/MIA:

Dallas sends Klay to Miami and gets Hawkins from NOP
Miami sends Jovic to the LAC trade exception and does a S&T of Mathurin to NOP at a starting number of ~$13.5mm
NOP sends Hawkins to DAL and expiring Bey to LAC and gets S&T Mathurin
LAC sends Mathurin to NOP and gets Jovic

I'm NOT going to try to define picks here as it is probably fairly minor stuff.  The various players make sense at their destinations besides possibly Hawkins in Dallas - which would still have 16 players.  The main benefit to Dallas is getting off of $10mm of current year salary (even if they cut Hawkins) which would then allow them to use the rest of their $12mm MLE if something good were to come their way either now or before the Trade Deadline.  That $10mm savings is far better than any concession they might get from Klay in a buyout.

FGump said earlier that only the amount the Mavs would spend on the buyout (if they did that) would count toward the salary cap. Wouldn't they still be able to use the MLE in that event with the same results you were citing in terms of tax/aprons etc.?