Mark Cuban Gives Inside Look at Mavs-Thunder NBA Draft Trade

The Mavs pulled off a trade with the Thunder during the 2023 NBA Draft to move down from the 10th pick. Mark Cuban explained how it happened.

DALLAS — Entering the 2023 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks held the 10th pick with many focusing on possible trade activity to add veteran talent. The team instead sent their selection along with Davis Bertans' $17.0 million salary to the Oklahoma City Thunder and moved down to 12th in the order to do so. 

The Mavs' general idea behind the trade was to dump a bad contract to move down a few spots, while still being in a position to select their intended target: Dereck Lively II. Meanwhile, the Thunder clearly were motivated to insure they could select Cason Wallace and moved up in the draft order to do so. 

Mavericks governor Mark Cuban called into The Hardline on Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket [KTCK-AM] during an impromptu appearance to discuss the Mavs' outcomes related to the NBA Draft. Among the topics was an explanation of how the trade with the Thunder to move down transpired. 

"Well, believe it or not, we really were going for the best player available," Cuban said. "And the ties went to the positions that we needed and the skill set we needed. When it came to (Lively), he was the guy we wanted. He was available, we would have taken him at 10 if we couldn’t do the deal."

Cuban explained that part of the calculus of the trade with the Thunder involved their need to meet the salary cap floor. The new CBA requires teams to satisfy that rule at the start of the season as opposed to before the end, which made taking on Davis Bertans' contract a more appealing option for Oklahoma City. 

"What was different this year and what got us calling teams is in the past, there was a minimum amount a team could spend in a year, but you didn't have to hit that amount until the end of the year," Cuban said. "This year, you have to hit that amount on the first day of the season."

The Mavs communicated with various teams that need to take on salary in order to hit the spending floor, including the Thunder. With Dallas needing to come away from the draft having shed at lest one bad contract, there was a mutually beneficial framework present to do so.

"So we had conversations with all of the cap room teams saying, 'Look, if you're interested in the trade, here's some guys we'd consider moving for the right deal.' OKC really wanted Bertans and we wanted to swap, but, 'okay, we won't take anything back and we'll move down the two spots.' So it's a good deal for them. It helps them hit the minimum they have to spend to start the season and it helped us get the guy we wanted and create some room. 

"And not only that, but it also created a traded player exception and not only that, not to get too inside basketball, but because its going into their cap room, that cap room doesn't become official July 6," Cuban explained. "On that day, we will have a traded player exception and then we will be able to finish the rest of that deal. We will also have the opportunity to gross it up, so hypothetically, if a team came to us and offered us a deal that we really liked where we take back money, then because we have a week or so, we'd be able to gross it up and make it into a bigger deal."

The Mavs commanded rave reviews from observers after making this creative manuver to offload a contract while still gaining the prospect they sought. Dallas wasted no time using the trade exception it created by trading for the 24th pick in order to take on Richaun Holmes' contract from the Sacramento Kings. 

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Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).

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