It has been five days since the Mavericks shocked the NBA by trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis. Despite the time that has passed, many are still in disbelief by Dallas’ management for making the trade. In addition to questioning Doncic’s conditioning, there is speculation about other reasons behind the Mavericks trading their franchise cornerstone. Warriors star Draymond Green points to the league’s new CBA, specifically, the second apron for Doncic’s departure from Dallas.
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In a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis, the two shared their reaction to the trade. It is unusual for a player like Doncic to be traded at 25 without requesting it. Green took to his podcast to share a passionate rant regarding the NBA’s new CBA for causing this scenario. He said,
“You see Luka Doncic getting traded? Don’t for one second think that’s also not a byproduct of that dumba*s CBA we signed. You put in a hard cap. You just saw Luka Doncic get traded at 25. That is a byproduct of the 2nd Apron.”
"You just saw Luka Doncic get traded at 25. That is a byproduct of the 2nd Apron."@Money23green and @barondavis explain how we'll see more trades like this due to the second apron. pic.twitter.com/CjHnxzsGkc
— The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis (@DraymondShow) February 6, 2025
Green’s statement does have some validity to it. Reports suggest the Mavericks were hesitant to give Doncic a $345 million supermax contract. The possible contract extension would’ve resulted in Doncic earning over $70 million annually.
However, due to the newly implemented second apron, the majority of Dallas’ cap space would be invested in Doncic.
Owners are not fans of spending the excess money that comes with being a team in the second apron. The Denver Nuggets are recent victims of the new cap construction as they weren’t able to afford Bruce Brown and Kenatavious Caldwell-Pope because of it.
The NBA wants teams to organically build rosters, but when the Nuggets do so, the league penalizes them due to the second apron.
The Mavericks won’t openly admit that the sole reason they decided to trade Luka Doncic was due to the second apron. However, Green’s theory holds a lot of credibility because many teams are reluctant to enter the treacherous tax threshold.
