“10 to 15%”. This is the level of progression that Nico Harrison demands from his players for next season, and thus reach this last milestone which separates them from the title. And he includes Luka Doncic, although he is aware that it will be difficult to ask more from the Slovenian.
“We wouldn’t be here without Luka”, recalled the GM Friday. “I think it is important to emphasize this, and we will also not be able to achieve our goals without Luka at his best. We're talking about a guy who, after Game 3, had the whole world falling on him, and was able to do what he did in Game 4, and I think that just shows his character. He is ready to fight through adversity and I think he will continue to improve. He is 25 years old. Going through the Finals, seeing what he needs to do to be at his best in the Finals after a tough end to the year and three tough series, you'll see the best of Luka next season. »
Downsize to offer better pay
Alongside Luka Doncic, management wants to keep 7 to 8 current players, from Kyrie Irving to Daniel Gafford, including Derek Lively II and PJ Washington. Under contract, Tim Hardaway Jr has his exit ticket, but it will be complicated to exchange him. As for Derrick Jones Jr, extending him is the priority for the summer, but the Mavericks don't have much to offer him since they are above the “luxury tax”. At best, as it stands, they can offer him the mid-level exceptionset at $5.2 million.
“I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but it’s a priority,” confirms Nico Harrison, about Derrick Jones Jr. “This is priority No. 1 – 1A and 1B. He sticks to our team. He loves being here and we obviously have to find ways for him to stay. But it is a priority and we will do what it takes to achieve it. »
One of the objectives is to reduce fat in order to get out of the red, and thus have available a mid-level exception of 12.9 million dollars.
Mid-level exception : envelope of approximately 13 million dollars available each year to recruit all NBA franchises which do not pay luxury tax. They can use it on one or more players. A team that must pay the luxury tax only has 5.2 million. Since 2023/24, if a team significantly exceeds the high bar of the salary cap (by more than 17.5 million dollars), it loses its “mid-level exception”.
Luxury tax : in the NBA, the salary cap is not strict, and the NBA authorizes the richest franchises to exceed the threshold set with a margin of tolerance of around 20%. In this case, next year, franchises could normally have spent up to $124 million. Then, for each dollar spent above this ceiling, franchises must pay the “luxury tax” to the NBA. A kind of tax that can be very expensive, and candidates for the title generally pay tens of millions of dollars each year. A sum then returned to franchises, good students, who have not paid the “luxury tax”
