Marc Stein reported the Mavericks will explore a Jrue Holiday trade despite the three-years, $104 million remaining on his contract making for a complicated deal. Kyrie Irving tore his ACL in March and Jason Kidd listed January-March, 2026 as the range where Dallas expects him to return. He also teased making additions to help the Mavs sustain through the time without him. Only Jaden Hardy and Brandon Williams play point guard among players currently on the roster.
Stein listed Holiday, recently extended Bulls guard Lonzo Ball (2yrs, $20M) and free agent Chris Paul as potential solutions. Holiday presents by far the most expensive option, but also a could play next to Irving when he returns and would remain in Dallas long-term. The Mavs face some cap restrictions in making a trade, as we laid out last week in our Holiday trade preview. Irving could help in increasing the team’s flexibility by opting-out of his $44 million player option and starting his next contract at a lower salary this coming season in exchange for a long term assurance.
Even a bump down to $40 million, as Jake Fischer noted, could prove helpful (3yrs, $120M). That’s probably as low as Dallas could hope for as his max contract amounts to four-years, $240 million after he opts out. Shams Charania expressed optimism in April that Irving could return in January on a three-year contract that aligns with Anthony Davis and Nico Harrison’s deals.
That creates some uncertainty in trying to do a deal before Irving’s player option decision on June 24 and the NBA Draft the following day, when Dallas will unbelievably draft Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall and inevitably sign him to a contract that starts at $13.9 million.
That will vault them over the second apron line by roughly $2 million, should Irving opt-in. So if the Mavs decide to trade for Holiday, they would need to trade multiple significant salaries to create enough breathing room below the second apron, since trading multiple players for one would hard-cap them.
Simply trading PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford ($28.5M combined) doesn’t work. Taking back Olivier-Maxence Prosper defeats the purpose of trading Holiday, as Boston would save less than $1 million next season. So the Celtics would need to find a third team to re-route Washington or Gafford to. The answer to that is almost always Brooklyn, though Boston could trade Washington and Gafford for lesser salaries later. The fact that they both play on expiring contracts helps.
It’s more likely than not that the Celtics will need to make multiple trades to dive below the second apron line, so who returns in the first trade isn’t overly relevant. For the Mavs, they would need to decide what’s more worthwhile between stripping their top end depth or back end depth. Aggregating Proper, Hardy, Dwight Powell, Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin gets them there too, but leaves the Mavs with only nine players. They would need to waive Brandon Williams to sign Flagg. That route isn’t reasonable.
The Mavs could go the middle route and trade Gafford, given Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II’s presence at center. Adding Martin, Hardy and Powell to that trade makes the money match, but Boston would need to re-route at least Martin and Hardy or Powell to save significant money. That would inevitably cost them some draft assets. For Dallas, ending the deal with 10 players only $15.5 million below the second apron line isn’t feasible.
So what’s the most realistic trade? If the Mavs trade Washington and Gafford, which is possible given that both players need new deals, Dallas can send Washington to Brooklyn, who might be more willing to absorb his salary with the opportunity to move him again for a solid return. The Celtics can take back Powell (1yr, $4M) and still make the money work while saving $14 million, able to easily move him and Gafford if they want later to get below the second apron.
That’s still a challenging trade for Dallas, left with 11 players and hard-capped below the second apron. They probably need to trade Martin to Brooklyn on top of Washington, in which case the Mavs could step up and ask the Celtics for draft capital to assist in moving salary. That’s where the likelihood Boston will need to incentivize a team to take on Holiday could return, but no team has as much of a pressing need for guard help as Dallas.
Because of that — this feels like a legitimate possibility.
The Mavericks could more easily acquire Ball for $10 million, but would solve fewer problems. Paul showed his continued ability to hold it down at point even as he neared 40 last year in San Antonio. Holiday hasn’t played the position full time since leaving Milwaukee. Paul would likely need to play off the bench when Irving returns. They could also sign both if Paul joins on a veteran’s minimum contract.
The Celtics would leave with more work to do to dodge the second apron, and Brooklyn finished as a destination for salary dumps. A Sam Hauser deal into a team’s mid-level exception could finish that job. Boston is roughly $20 million above the second apron at the moment. A dip below the luxury tax, shedding over $40 million, would involve Kristaps Porziņģis. That could wait until closer to the deadline alongside addressing Gafford’s future.
