In the early hours of February 2, 2025, the Dallas Mavericks finalized a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, agreeing to send 25-year-old superstar Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Lakers in exchange for nine-time all-star Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and the Lakers unprotected 2029 first-round pick.[2] This trade stunned the NBA world and left many fans and media insiders wondering why the Mavericks, fresh off a Western Conference championship and NBA Finals appearance, would trade the face of their franchise
Mavs’ Motives
There have been numerous reports listing the possible motivations behind the move, with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reporting that the Mavericks had ongoing concerns about Dončić’s conditioning and diet, and the injuries resulting from them.[3] Though Dončić has played above 60 of his 82 games every season he has been in the NBA, this season he has played less than half of the team’s 53 games this season.[4] This was, reportedly, the final straw for the Mavs, as there was already tension surrounding Dončić’s performance in the playoffs last season being hampered by injuries, as well as him gaining 40 pounds in the offseason.[5]
Given these concerns, the Mavericks decided to move on from Dončić before the market forced them to give him a supermax contract or risk him leaving for nothing in free agency.[6] The supermax, also known as the designated veteran extension, introduced in the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), allows NBA teams to retain the superstars they draft by allowing them to offer a larger extension than other organizations.[7] To use Dončić’s contract as an example, had he stayed with the Mavericks, Dončić would have been eligible for a five-year, $345 million contract, the largest contract ever signed by an NBA player.[8] On the Lakers, the maximum contract extension that he could receive is five years, $229 million.[9]
The market trends suggest that Dončić would have almost certainly been deserving of that $345 million contract, given his previous signing of the designated rookie extension under the prior CBA in 2021.[10] Every year since then, Dončić has been recognized as a top 5 player in the NBA, garnering first-team All-NBA selections every year since 2020.[11]These accomplishments are much more than what is typically required for a supermax extension, with players like Bradley Beal and Karl-Anthony Towns having been given supermax extensions despite never being recognized as first-team or second-team All-NBA.[12]
The Logic Behind the Decision, and Oversight that Prompted It
This begs the question of why the Mavericks did not want to offer Dončić a supermax extension. Dončić seems like the type of player that this extension was made for, a top player who was drafted to a smaller market organization that he helped transform into a Finals contender. Regardless of any shortcomings in diet or defense that the organization saw, a Dončić is a 25 year old star who is already considered a top 5 player in the league and had just led the team to a Finals appearance last year, which would make him the prototypical recipient of a supermax contract.[13] However, as it turns out, the supermax harms the Mavericks' ability to retain Dončić.
While this is not the only time that the second apron tax has restricted the type of team building and contract arrangements that it was supposed to help, this is the most egregious example yet.[14] The second apron tax was introduced by the NBA to prevent dynasties from being created. It does this by hamstringing teams whose payroll is over the second apron limit by impairing their ability to make trades, giving them worse draft picks, and making their owners pay an increased tax rate.[15] The second apron has become such an impairment, that some teams have destroyed championship-contending rosters to avoid it. [16]
The Mavericks, who were in the Finals just last year, made this move because of the impact that a supermax has in concurrence with the second apron.[17] With the second apron tax set at around $190 million per team, and the cost of Dončić’s supermax contract having an average annual value (AAV) of around $70 million, had the Mavericks signed Dončić to this deal, it would have tied up over a third of their yearly salary into one player.[18] With Dončić’s co-star Kyrie Irving making around $40 million AAV on his current deal, the Mavericks would have to spend less on the other 13 players on the team than they spent on Dončić on a year-by-year basis.[19] In this way, the second apron tax and the financial impact of the supermax on these smaller market franchises restrict their ability to retain their star players.
How Could This Have Been Resolved?
While the supermax contract makes sense on paper, giving teams the ability to pay historically large contracts to the stars that they drafted, it also places the burden upon them to do so. This, combined with the hesitance of many ownership groups in eclipsing the second-apron tax, can actually hinder these organizations in drafting a superstar worthy of a supermax. [20] While the practical application of these two intricacies of the NBA salary cap have not worked in practice, there are ways to adjust the supermax system so that it accomplishes what it is meant to. Firstly, the supermax could work more like a restricted free agency system, where players, if drafted to the organization they currently play for, could still test the market, but any contract offered by another team could be matched by their current organizations. This is the system for rookie extensions in the NBA and leads to teams being more successful in retaining their drafted players.[21] A concern for this type of system would be that it restricts player mobility and a great player could be stuck on a team that they do not want to play for indefinitely.[22]
However, these concerns are overblown. The NBA has developed into a league where star players have so much organizational sway that teams are beholden to trade their players if they demand a trade for, usually, lesser than expected value. An example of this occurred less than 24 hours after the Luka Dončić trade, as De’Aaron Fox told the league that if he was not traded from the Kings to the Spurs, then he would be signing with the Spurs at the end of 2026 at the conclusion of his contract.[23] This tanked Fox’s market value, as it turned him from a young point guard who could potentially lead a team for years to, essentially, a one-year rental from every team that was not the Spurs. Thus, the Spurs acquired Fox from the Kings one year early for pennies on the dollar.[24]
If the league adopted a restricted free agency model, these players would not be able to harm their organizations by flaunting their contracts. Instead, their trade requests would be responded to but would bring their current organization a more realistic return because, theoretically, the organization has them under contract for as long as they want. This would also limit organizations from losing their players for nothing in free agency, which was the main fear of the Kings when they traded Fox and the Mavericks when they traded Dončić.[25] Instead, free agency for players; who are almost certain to receive maximum contracts, would consist of teams negotiating with the organizations that drafted and developed them trying to complete a sign and trade: where the current team would sign the player using their restricted free agency privileges and, upon doing so, would trade him for assets to the highest bidder.
The player’s contracts would not decrease, but the organizations that drafted them would have much more leverage in negotiations with other teams both during and before those players hit the open market. In De‘Aaron Fox‘s situation, it would have led to the Kings receiving a much more realistic trade package for their All-NBA guard. In Dončić’s situation, the lessened cap hit that would have needed to be taken on by the Mavericks in order to resign Dončić would have likely led to him remaining in Dallas and not simply being dealt to a team whose owner was willing to pay for him.
Chas Phillips (staff writer) is a 1L at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. His interests include intellectual property, contract negotiations, and employment law. His ultimate goal is to work in the landscape of college sports, either for a university or the NCAA.
References:
[1] https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrost88/51176525298/in/photolist-2kYi51s-2nztE22-2nnQ4ZW-qu85oA-sYXnGj-ncW5au-2mfH9Tg-RKtgwL-rfBL41-nuaaBU-PWvCt4-nwcZZF-scyRrt-SWythj-sNdoGz-2kYnw8B-T7PHKw-sN6Pgu-rThFkH-2kYkUFW-sAsp34-2kYntkh-2kYkLXz-2kYnpVB-PWvMeR-2kYnvho-nut5Ym-rfPcE8-2mEzH9u-2kYnvXr-rgt4Kz-2kYkN1g-2kYi2vc-2kYdjCT-PWwiMV-2nzrbgs-2kYdc8H-sNB6cN-2kYgM8e-2kYnk54-2kYdpZ9-2kYkSqy-t3SGmj-2kYkMko-2kYgNzn-NQqmwm-saZ4yJ-rVGExd-nu9yTz-ncWrsa
[2] Reports: Lakers to acquire Luka Dončić from Mavericks for Anthony Davis, more NBA.com, https://www.nba.com/news/report-lakers-to-acquire-luka-doncic-from-mavericks-for-anthony-davis-others (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[3]Id.
[4] Luka Dončić Stats Basketball Reference, https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/doncilu01.html (last visited Feb 9, 2025)
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[6]Id.
[7] How the NBA Supermax Contract Effectively Ended the Individual Max for Most Players SBNation.com, https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2018/9/10/17837132/nba-supermax-contract-lebron-james-russell-westbrook (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[8] NBA insider: Luka Dončić ineligible for $345m Supermax contract after Lakers trade Bleacher Report, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10153150-nba-insider-luka-doncic-ineligible-for-345m-supermax-contract-after-lakers-trade (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[9] NBA insider: Luka Dončić ineligible for $345m Supermax contract after Lakers trade Bleacher Report, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10153150-nba-insider-luka-doncic-ineligible-for-345m-supermax-contract-after-lakers-trade (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[10] Inside the top-secret trade negotiations that made Luka Dončić a laker The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6108360/2025/02/03/luka-doncic-nba-trade-negotiations-lakers-mavericks/ (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[11] Year-by-year All-NBA teams Year-by-year All-NBA Teams | NBA.com, https://www.nba.com/news/history-all-nba-teams (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[12] 13 NBA players who signed humongous veteran supermax extensions, including Jaylen Brown USA Today, https://ftw.usatoday.com/lists/nba-supermax-contracts-history (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[13] NBA 25 under 25: The best young stars, ranked by future potential ESPN, https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/38802411/nba-25-25-rankings-wembanyama-doncic-zion-morant-more-stars (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[15] Why NBA’s controversial “second apron” will lead to a Better League SBNation.com, https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2024/7/11/24195869/nba-second-apron-new-cba-cap-rules-denver-nuggets (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[16] The NBA’s second tax apron and how it’s breaking your favorite teams apart, explained USA Today, https://ftw.usatoday.com/2024/10/nba-second-apron-cba-explained (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[17] Luka doncic trade: What we know so far about the deal, the return, and the “why?” Dallas News, https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2025/02/02/dallas-mavericks-luka-doncic-trade-lakers-anthony-davis-lebron-james-kyrie-irving/ (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[18] 2024-25 NBA salary cap, 1st and 2nd aprons, Luxury Tax Levels revealed before FA Bleacher Report, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10126723-2024-25-nba-salary-cap-1st-and-2nd-aprons-luxury-tax-levels-revealed-before-fa (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[19] These are the salaries of Dallas Mavericks players HoopsHype, https://hoopshype.com/salaries/dallas_mavericks/ (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[20] Is the NBA’s second apron preventing a mess or creating one? The Ringer, https://www.theringer.com/2024/06/28/nba/nba-second-apron-offseason-preview-salary-cap-cba-rules (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[21] Hoopshype explains: What is the designated rookie rule? HoopsHype, https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-designated-rookie-rule/ (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[22] NBA player empowerment is well-deserved and overdue RealGM, https://basketball.realgm.com/analysis/265997/NBA-Player-Empowerment-Is-Well-Deserved-And-Overdue (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[23] Rich Paul Advises Kings To Trade De’Aaron Fox; Spurs Viewed As Preferred Destination MSN, https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/rich-paul-advises-kings-to-trade-deaaron-fox-spurs-viewed-as-preferred-destination/ar-AA1y25Ym?ocid=BingNewsSerp (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[24] San Antonio spurs make De’Aaron Fox trade announcement San Antonio Spurs On SI, https://www.si.com/nba/spurs/news/san-antonio-spurs-make-de-aaron-fox-trade-announcement-01jk6sbd6sf0 (last visited Feb 3, 2025)
[25] Reports: Lakers to acquire Luka Dončić from Mavericks for Anthony Davis, more NBA.com, https://www.nba.com/news/report-lakers-to-acquire-luka-doncic-from-mavericks-for-anthony-davis-others (last visited Feb 3, 2025)