NBA expert believes Mavericks' situation is most 'dire' it's ever been

Nico Harrison left the Dallas Mavericks in a bad spot. The Luka Doncic trade was what it was, and it's the main reason that Harrison is no longer the general manager, but there are plenty of valid reasons for why he was shown the door.

If you believe Mark Cuban, which can be a hard thing to do these days, the mishandling of the team's finances are a big reason why Harrison is showing "unemployed" on his Instagram bio. And the team's finances are an absolute mess.

ESPN's Bobby Marks appeared on the "DLLS Mavs" podcast on Tuesday, where he talked about just how tricky of a situation it is.

"It's not good at all. It's probably it's probably the most dire that it's been ever in franchise history," Marks said. "Listen, Dallas finishes in a luxury tax this year. They're going to be a repeater tax next year. I mean, you know, four out of five years, you know, you pay a significant penalty. The tax, it doesn't have as much of a bite as you guys know about, you know, the apron rules. The second apron has got a lot of bite to it. You're looking at being in the apron... It was like 370 [million] in salary and luxury tax for next year's roster when you look at it.

"It's going... to be the biggest tax penalty in franchise history. I think it's $150 million, $160 million."

Nico Harrison's Ineptitude Has the Mavericks Stuck

The Dallas Mavericks are already projected to be over the tax next year because Anthony Davis is set to make more than $58 million, Kyrie Irving is on the books for $39.5 million, and then five other players making more than $10 million, including people like Klay Thompson and Caleb Martin, who are probably believed to be on contracts with negative value.

The way out starts with trading Davis for expiring contracts to help free up some space. If they can attach Klay Thompson, Caleb Martin, or Jaden Hardy to that, even better. Some first-round picks would also help, because after this season, the Mavericks don't control their pick from 2027 to 2030. The 2026 NBA Draft is incredibly talented, to the point where it may be best to tank to get a top 5 pick, but they need some other future assets, too. They own a 2029 first-round pick from the Lakers, but as long as Luka Doncic stays there, that will be in the 20s.

P.J. Washington can't be traded until after the season because of when he signed his extension, but he's worth keeping around. Daniel Gafford probably needs to be shopped, but considering Dereck Lively II's injury history, they may need to hang onto both.

Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2025-26 season

Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Austin Veazey on Twitter

More Dallas Mavericks News

Mavericks finally admit mistake in trading Luka Doncic to Lakers, fire Nico Harrison

Mark Cuban says how 'painful' it is with Luka Doncic on Lakers instead of Mavericks

Mavericks already pushing for former executive to be Nico Harrison replacement

3 Anthony Davis NBA trade ideas now that Mavericks have fired Nico Harrison