DAL OFFSEASON: Trade & FA | Mavs "mostly done...but you never know."

[loki]

That was my take as well, although it's definitely a massive long shot. Maybe they were hoping the cap/tax would drop far enough that the Sixers would be forced into a Simmons or Embiid salary dump.

It's just, Sixer didn't bring Rivers in because they want to rebuild or because tax is of a big concern to them. If they are trading a star, it will be for a star. My guess though, Embiid and Simmons stay another season unless something really great comes along.

I agree that the Rivers hiring signaled wanting to keep both Simmons and Embiid. However, if they aren't concerned about the tax now, that could easily change in the future. Imagine the tax level drops by $20M instead of staying flat as currently projected. With Philly already having $150M in salary committed, they would owe around $110M in tax next year. 

Then Dallas swoops in offering a bevy of role players (maybe Kleber, DFS, THJ, Wright) with some of the salary filler (like Jackson and Powell) being absorbed by other teams cap space or trade exceptions in exchange for cash/picks. You could drop their tax bill to $30M overnight and allow them to stay competitive with a roster that actually fits around Embiid.

Not saying Philly necessarily does that deal. Maybe they find a way to dump Horford or a handful of others to get enough breathing room, but every owner has his limits. I imagine even Cuban would have a hard time stomaching a tax bill that high.