The first four months of the Dallas Mavericks' season were an evaluation period for new general manager Nico Harrison and coach Jason Kidd on which players fit around superstar guard Luka Doncic.
What they learned was despite a 32-23 record at the NBA trade deadline, the Mavericks were a .500 team with Kristaps Porzingis on the floor. A third straight first-round exit was likely inevitable if Dallas stayed conservative during trade season.
Out went Porzingis and in came two veteran role players, Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. The trade not only gave the Mavericks additional depth, but by breaking up Porzingis' contract into two players, future financial flexibility.
The Mavericks finished the season with a 20-7 record, second to only the Boston Celtics. Per ESPN Stats & Information research, Dallas went an NBA-best 11-2 in clutch-time performances with a point differential of plus-43.
MORE: Where Dallas ranks in ESPN's Future Power Rankings
State of the team
Roster status: A top-six team in the West -- but should they rely on roster continuity?
The offseason presents another opportunity for Harrison to reshape the roster around Doncic, or rely on the same group of players that lost to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals.
Dallas has 14 players under contract but will face the reality that constructing a top-four team in the West will come at a price. For the first time since their 2010-11 championship season, the Mavs are a luxury tax team.
The cost to keep this roster together could exceed $240 million (salary and tax penalty) when factoring in unrestricted free agent Jalen Brunson. The former second-round pick will be one of the top available guards this offseason.
Despite a projected high payroll, there are resources to tweak the roster:
Dallas will add another perimeter threat with guard Tim Hardaway Jr., who missed the second half of the regular season and playoffs with a broken right foot.
The Mavericks not only have a first-round pick in June but a valuable $10.9 million trade exception that is set to expire on June 27.
Aside from Doncic, there are 13 contracts ranging from $2 million to $19.6 million.
If the Mavericks need to make another trade, they have the flexibility. One roster resource that is currently not available for Dallas is the method to acquire a free agent via a sign-and-trade. Not including Brunson, Dallas is currently right at the $155.7 million threshold.
Jalen Brunson
The 2018 draft was the moment that shaped the Mavericks future. Not only did Dallas move up two slots and draft Doncic, but it also selected Brunson with the third pick in the second round.
The Mavericks have their backcourt of the future but at a likely $300 million cost.
The price tag is associated with the $212 million extension that Doncic signed last offseason and now the steep hit to retain Brunson.
Despite a below-average performance in the second-round win over Phoenix, the 25-year-old has developed into an offensive threat and top starter in the league. He missed only two games this season, averaging a career high 16.2 points per game.
Per ESPN Stats & Information, Brunson ranked fifth in field goal percentage (among players with 200 or more attempts) on drives to the rim. Last year he ranked second behind Giannis Antetokounmpo.
He also ranked in the top five in field goal percentage on floaters made and shots off the dribble outside of the paint.
In Dallas' first-round win against the Utah Jazz, Brunson averaged 27.8 points and became the first player in Mavericks playoff history to score 40 points with no turnovers.
But there is financial fallout as a result of the contract Brunson signed in 2018 and the failure to reach an extension last offseason and during the regular season. On the surface, the four-year $6.8 million contract that Brunson signed is considered the best value contract in the NBA. His $1.8 million salary this season ranks outside of the top 300 among all NBA players.
But there is a problem.
Unlike a player selected in the first-round that will eventually become a restricted free agent after their four-year contract expires, the same rules do not apply to Brunson. A player that signs a non-rookie scale contract and becomes a free agent with three years or less of service is considered a restricted free agent (if the team tenders him a qualifying offer). Brunson has four years of service starting on July 1.
Teams have found a loophole to this rule by signing a player selected in the second round to either a three-year deal or one that includes a team option in the fourth year.
For example, the Nuggets signed Nikola Jokic to a four-year, $5.7 million contract in 2015 but with a team option for the final year. Denver declined the option, tendered Jokic a qualifying offer and eventually signed him to a max contract. The original $1.6 million salary increased to $24.6 million, but Denver eliminated the risk of Jokic becoming an unrestricted free agent the following offseason.
ESPN analyzed 75 second-round contracts that were signed since 2017 and with a minimum three years in length. Brunson, Raymond Spalding, Jonah Bolden and Alen Smailagic were the only players that were signed to a straight four-year deal that did not include a team option. Spalding was drafted by Dallas in 2017.
Ironically, the Mavericks signed former second-round pick Tyrell Terry in 2020 to a four-year contract with a team option. He was later waived just before the start of the 2021-22 season.
Brunson's contract snafu could have been addressed last offseason (and also during the regular season) when he was eligible to sign a four-year, $55.6 million extension.
A Brunson extension would have saved Dallas a projected $38 million in salary and luxury tax penalties if the next contract starts at $20 million. A $49 million tax penalty in 2022-23 with Brunson on a $12.4 million salary is now expected to surpass $80 million.
To be fair, Brunson was coming off a first-round playoff loss to the LA Clippers that saw his minutes and role drastically reduced. However, a $12.4 million salary that starts in 2022-23 is slightly above the $10.3 million midlevel exception (outside of the top 100 in salary) and more importantly, the risk of unrestricted free agency would have been avoided.
"I told him once the season started, that's it," his dad Rick Brunson told ESPN's Tim MacMahon last month. "I told the Mavericks, 'Once the season starts, there's no contract talk,' and I went back against my word. In January, I thought he did enough where he deserved [the extension]. I said, 'Hey, take the money, man.' He wants security. He wants to live here. And they declined."
Although Brunson is free to sign with any team, the Mavericks hold a ton of leverage.
Dallas can offer him the most years (five versus four), and because the free-agent market is depressed with a lack of spending among teams, they can also offer the most money. Despite being over the cap, Brunson has Bird rights and the Mavericks can sign him up to a starting contract of $30.5 million.
Brunson is not a max player and likely will not see offers exceeding $25 million in the first season.
The comparison for Brunson ranges from the four-year, $78 million extension that Marcus Smart signed with Boston to the four-year, $96 million extension that Terry Rozier signed last year with the Charlotte Hornets. At minimum, the four-year, $75 million contract his teammate, Hardaway, signed last year should serve as the starting point in negotiations.
ESPN projects only four teams -- the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs -- with a minimum of $20 million of cap space. The Pacers, Magic and Spurs are set at the guard position and have other positional needs, leaving only the Pistons as a legit threat.
The Knicks, a team that has been linked to Brunson, would need to clear $20 million in salary to have a legitimate shot at signing the guard. The Thunder have $32 million to take back salary (a combination of Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel) but have to do so by June 30.
New York or any team could also engage with Dallas on a sign-and-trade, but that would require the Mavericks to cooperate. There is also the complicated base year compensation rule that applies to Brunson in a sign-and-trade transaction.
For trade purposes, only 50% of Brunson's incoming salary for a new team applies. That means a $20 million salary counts as only $10 million in incoming salary, but the full amount still applies toward outgoing salary.
It will take only one team to offer Brunson life-changing money, but the Mavericks have something none of the teams with cap space have, Doncic and the best chance to win a championship.
Offseason cap breakdown and depth chart
Team needs
Rim protector at center
Resources to build the roster
Draft: First-round pick
Own free agent: Jalen Brunson
Tradable contracts: 13 players earning between $2 million and $19.6 million
Exceptions: $6.4 million tax midlevel and $10.9 million trade
Cash: $6.3 million to send or receive via trade
Dates to watch
June 27: The $10.9 million trade exception created in the Josh Richardson deal to Boston is set to expire. The Mavericks can acquire a player earning up to $11 million but not two players that have a salary of $5 million each.
June 29: Backup guard Trey Burke has a $3.2 million player option. Burke averaged a career-low 10.5 minutes per game and saw limited playing time in the playoffs. He played in only 10 games since the All-Star break. Because his next salary projects to be at the veteran minimum exception, it is likely that Burke will opt-in to his contract.
June 29: Two-way players Theo Pinson and Moses Wright are eligible to receive a $50,000 qualifying offer.
July 3: The Mavericks are a tax team but that does not mean they should cut costs with the $9 million non-guaranteed contract of Maxi Kleber. In four seasons in Dallas, the forward shot 35.9% from 3 and averaged 7 points. The forward shot 42.5% from deep in the playoffs, including 25 points in a Game 2 win over Utah. Kleber not only has value on the court, but also with his expiring contract. In the unlikely situation he is waived, the Mavericks would open a roster spot but only have the veteran minimum exception available.
July 4: The $2 million contract of Frank Ntilikina will become guaranteed. Because of the Mavericks' tax situation and full roster, Ntilikina could be looking for a new team.
Aug. 12: The signing restriction for Dorian Finney-Smith will be lifted, making the forward eligible to be traded.
Restrictions
The Mavericks owe New York a top-10 protected first in 2023, 2024 or 2025. Because of the pick protection, they are not allowed to trade a first-rounder until two years after the pick to the Knicks is conveyed. Dallas is allowed to trade their own 2022 first-rounder but only after the draft starts.
The Mavericks have three players, Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock and Trey Burke that have a trade bonus in their contract. The Finney-Smith and Bullock bonus is 5% of their remaining contract. Burke's bonus is 7.5% of his remaining salary. For example, in the unlikely scenario that Finney-Smith is traded in August, his trade bonus is worth $2 million, and that amount is split up then added to the remaining three years (except the player option) of his contract. The Mavericks are responsible to pay the bonus.
Burke cannot be traded until his player option is exercised.
Because of their non-guaranteed contract, Kleber and Ntilikina have no outgoing salary in a trade.
Extension eligible
Starting center Dwight Powell is entering the last year of his contract and is extension eligible. Powell played in all 82 games this season, averaging 8.7 points and 4.9 rebounds. The Mavericks can extend him for four additional seasons and up to $59.6 million.
Kleber is extension eligible, but only if his contact for 2022-23 is guaranteed. He can sign for an additional four years and up to $59.6 million.
If Trey Burke exercises his player option, he would then be eligible to sign an extension. It is unlikely that Dallas would entertain a new contract.
The draft
The Mavericks have their own first-round pick in June. If the first-rounder to New York in 2023, 2024 or 2025 is not conveyed, the Mavericks will send a 2025 second-rounder to the Knicks. Dallas has two future second-rounders available (2024 and 2027) to use in a trade.
Here's how ESPN's Jonathan Givony has Dallas selecting in June:
No. 26: Jaden Hardy | SG | G League Ignite
Keeping defenses honest from loading up on Luka Doncic will always be a priority, something Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie have both done very effectively this season. With Brunson entering unrestricted free agency, adding another sparkplug combo guard such as Hardy could be attractive. Hardy entered the year as a potential top-five pick and still has plenty of upside to tap into as a shot-making, instinctual scorer who is still only 19.