What Is a Trade Kicker in the NBA? Why Anthony Davis Waived His for the Mavericks

The LA Lakers traded Anthony Davis in a blockbuster trade to acquire Luka Doncic. Along with AD, the Mavs will also receive Max Christie and a 2029 LAL first-round pick. Despite the sudden nature of the trade, AD seems to be all in for the Mavs as he has waived his trade kicker. A lot of fans might be wondering now what a trade kicker is and how it works. Let’s try to understand.

A trade kicker is a clause, often included in players’ contracts to discourage teams from trading them. The trade kicker clause can be a maximum of 15% of the player’s annual salary. In a situation where a player is traded, despite having the clause in the contract, it allows the player to earn 15% more of his salary.

Davis had the clause in his contract but has decided to waive it in order to facilitate the trade. By doing so, he has helped the Mavericks retain $628K under luxury tax. As per Bobby Marks, the Dallas franchise was $5.1 million over the luxury bracket prior to the trade.

This shows that the 10-time All-Star is going all in for his new team.

Due to this decision, AD’s salary will remain at $43.2 million. Luka also has a trade kicker in his contract.

So far, there’s no news of him waiving his clause. Players waiving their trade kicker to facilitate a deal has been a common practice.

In 2017, when Carmelo Anthony was traded by the Knicks to the OKC, he waived his $8.1 million trade kicker to allow the deal to go through easily.

With AD waiving his clause, the Mavs will have more money to play with while staying out of the luxury tax bracket. It seems like the 31-year-old is going in with a win-now mentality, allowing his new team to move freely in search of a championship.