Getty Mark Cuban, Mavericks owner
Surely, it must get frustrating to be the owner of an NBA team—or anyone in an NBA front office, for that matter—and constantly be peppered with ideas for signings and trades that simply can’t work under the rules of the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Unless a team has loads of cap space, and very few do each summer, there are pretty strict limitations on what can be done under league rules.
But many fans don’t understand that. That was the case when a Mavericks backer decided to DM Dallas owner Mark Cuban on Twitter and point out to him that Cavaliers restricted free-agent guard Collin Sexton was not happy with the offers he’d been getting from the Cavs. The suggestion was clear: The Mavericks should move to bring in Sexton, seeing as the team lost Jalen Brunson to open free agency four weeks ago.
Can someone give me a lesson
Cuban’s response to the fan: “You need to learn how the CBA works.”
Mavericks Have No Path to Collin Sexton
That’s pretty clearly true, because there are no real avenues to bring Sexton to Dallas this year. The Mavs can’t sign him to an offer sheet because they are over the salary cap by nearly $50 million. They would have to find a way to dump all of that salary, plus enough for an Sexton offer sheet, to have the room to sign Sexton to a deal—and even if they did so, the Cavaliers would be able to match it.
Practically speaking, it is impossible to dump $60-70 million in salary at any point in an NBA season, let alone at the tail end of free agency.
The other path to landing Sexton is a sign-and-trade but that, too, is almost impossible for the Mavericks for multiple reasons. Dallas is almost $15 million over the luxury tax threshold, according to Spotrac, which limits its ability to take part in a sign-and-trade under CBA rules. The Mavs would be hard-capped if they did a sign-and-trade with Cleveland, and would have to dump more salary.
Also, because Sexton is a restricted free agent and due for a raise on his next contract, a complicated rule (known as base-year compensation) would be triggered if he were to be signed-and-traded. Dallas would have to send out salaries worth around Sexton’s new contract number but Cleveland could only take back 50% of that number.
It’s a complex way of saying the simple thing: It’s not happening.
Sexton Had Knee Surgery Last November
The Mavs could, eventually, land Sexton if the situation plays out how many seem to expect it will—that Sexton and the Cavaliers will remain and an impasse, forcing Sexton to sign the team’s qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Of course, there is still a chance that Sexton could sign a new contract with Cleveland, if the Cavs come up on their offer, and be eligible to be traded later this season. That would put the Cavs in position to at least get some return on Sexton, who was the team’s first-round pick (No. 8 overall) in 2018.
Sexton averaged 24.3 points in 2020-21 but played only 11 games last year after he suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee in November. The Cavs went 44-38 last season mostly without Sexton, so the team has not prioritized his return this year.