Mavericks' Klay Thompson buyout opens up a new avenue for a future trade

The Dallas Mavericks decided to move on from Klay Thompson for several reasons, including trimming their roster down to 15 players and, for Thompson's sake, allowing the four-time NBA champion to latch on with a contender. However, the best part about buying out Thompson for Dallas is the additional salary cap flexibility, which now opens up a new avenue for a future trade.

Instead of carrying the remaining $17.5 million on Thompson's contract, Dallas will only have to take on $7.7 million, thanks to Thompson's willingness to give back nearly $9.8 million in his buyout agreement. Dallas went from roughly $2 million below the luxury tax to nearly $11.8 million below it, giving the front office significantly more financial flexibility when constructing a future trade.

Klay Thompson's buyout created more financial flexibility

Although Dallas' fresh financial flexibility isn't extremely sizable in today's NBA, it's important because NBA teams aren't allowed to trade any amount of salary they want. The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) governs how much salary a team can take back based on how much it sends out, with the allowable amount changing depending on the outgoing salary.

For teams operating below the first apron, like Dallas, the rules are a bit convoluted. If a team sends out up to roughly $7.5 million in salary, it can take back up to 200 percent of that salary, plus $250,000. For outgoing salary between roughly $7.5 million and $29 million, the team can take back the outgoing salary plus approximately $7.5 million. If it sends out more than $29 million in salary, it can take back up to 125 percent of the outgoing salary, plus $250,000.

However, here's the catch. If the Mavericks were below the first apron before, and they're still below it now, why's it such a big deal? Well… Dallas was only about $2 million below the first apron before buying out Thompson, meaning the Mavericks had limited room to actually utilize those aforementioned trade rules. A trade could satisfy the league's salary-matching requirements and still push Dallas over the first apron.

Following Thompson's buyout, Dallas has roughly $19.3 million of room below the first apron. That doesn't change the salary-matching rules themselves. Instead, it gives the Mavericks considerably more room to operate within them.

Dallas can now better utilize NBA trade rules

With Thompson still in the fold, Dallas couldn't, for example, use the “under the first apron” rules to acquire a player making $10 million while sending out a player making only $5 million. Even though that trade satisfies the salary-matching rules, it would have pushed the Mavericks over the first apron. In other words, Dallas' limited apron room prevented it from taking full advantage of the salary-matching rules.

After buying out Thompson, however, that same hypothetical trade becomes much more feasible. Dallas now has roughly $19.3 million of room below the first apron, meaning it has enough room to absorb the additional $5 million in salary while remaining below the first apron.

That's where buying out the 36-year-old Thompson becomes valuable for Dallas. The Mavericks now have more flexibility to pursue future trades in which the salary they take back is much higher than the salary they send out, without almost immediately running into the first apron.

The Mavericks now have another avenue to make a trade

With moves still to make, the Mavericks now have a new financial tool at their disposal. Whether it be adding the shooting they lost in parting ways with Thompson or filling out a still-thin backcourt, it'll now be much more straightforward for Dallas to make a move.

Buying out Thompson certainly wasn't the most marquee move of the offseason (it felt inevitable at this point), but it could be the most impactful one.

Entering a season with a revamped roster, a new head coach, and a new front office, it'll take time for the Mavericks to find cohesion, which means a trade could very well be in the near future. If that happens, Dallas will now have considerably more financial flexibility to make the type of move it couldn't before Thompson's buyout.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow