Mavs reportedly shopping former first-round pick

The Dallas Mavericks have intensified their efforts to create room below a second-appraisal hard cap to sign free agent guard Dante Exum, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, who reports that these efforts have centered on finding a new home via trade for forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper.

Dallas reached an agreement to re-sign Exum to a one-year deal way back on July 2, but the transaction still hasn’t been officially finalized. That’s because the Mavericks’ team salary for apron purposes currently sits at approximately $206.2M, which is about $1.6M below the second tax apron ($207,824,000).

The Mavs hard-capped themselves at the second apron by using the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign D’Angelo Russell last month. That means their team salary can’t surpass $207,824,000 at any point for the rest of the 2025-26 league year. A minimum-salary deal for Exum would carry a $2,296,274 cap hit.

With training camps still over a month from getting underway, there has been little urgency for the Mavs to resolve the apron crunch to this point. However, it sounds as if they’re ramping up their attempts to find a solution, and trading Prosper has long been considered a path they’ll explore.

The 24th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Prosper has played a very limited role during his first two years in Dallas, averaging 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game across 92 regular season outings, with a .396/.260/.658 shooting line. Given that he’s buried on the depth chart and isn’t owed any guaranteed money beyond his $3M salary for 2025-26 (his deal includes a $5.3M rookie scale team option for ’26-27), the 23-year-old is the team’s most obvious trade candidate to make room for Exum.

Dallas can send out up to nearly $8M in cash in a trade, which would more than cover Prosper’s 2025-26 salary, but potential trade partners will likely be seeking a second-round draft pick to take on that $3MM cap hit. The most recent trade completed this summer, for example, saw the Heat send a future second-rounder to the Nets along with Haywood Highsmith and his $5.6M expiring salary in order to get below the tax.

The Mavs only have two tradable second-round picks: Philadelphia’s 2030 selection and their own 2032 second-rounder. If they don’t want to give up any draft equity and can’t find a trade partner willing to accept cash, waiving and stretching Prosper’s $3M salary would be an option, though it would have to be done by this Friday to ensure he clears waivers on August 31. That would spread his cap hit across three seasons at approximately $1M per year, opening up an extra $2M in room below the 2025-26 second apron.

The Mavs are currently carrying 15 players on guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts for ’25-26, so moving off Prosper (or another player) is also necessary to open up a spot for Exum on their projected 15-man regular season roster.