DHJ Quick Take: Tarik Biberović Expected To Join Mavericks After Fenerbahçe Buyout
Dallas Hoops Journal has learned Tarik Biberović is expected to leave Fenerbahçe and join the Mavericks once his buyout is finalized, ending an eight-season run in Turkey. Under NBA rules, Dallas can only cover $900,000 of the $2M buyout required for him to depart, leaving Biberović to cover the rest.
- What happened? Dallas Hoops Journal has learned Biberović is expected to complete a buyout of his Fenerbahçe contract and join the Mavericks on a multi-year deal.
- How did Dallas get his rights? The Mavericks agreed to acquire Biberović’s draft rights from the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the Santi Aldama trade, which has not yet been formally completed by the league office.
- What’s the holdup? NBA rules cap what Dallas can put toward an international buyout at $900,000, well short of the $2M Fenerbahçe is owed, leaving Biberović responsible for the difference.
- What’s next? Contract terms, including whether Dallas uses its mid-level or second-round exception, have not yet been finalized.
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks are expected to add one of Europe’s top shooters. Dallas Hoops Journal has learned Tarik Biberović is expected to complete a buyout of his Fenerbahçe contract and join Dallas on a multi-year deal, ending an eight-season run in Turkey and setting up his arrival in the NBA this fall.
Dallas and Memphis agreed to the trade sending Santi Aldama to the Mavericks on July 1, as Dallas Hoops Journal reported, in exchange for AJ Johnson, a top-20 protected 2030 first-round pick from Golden State, and two second-round selections. That trade, which carries Biberović’s draft rights, has not yet been formally completed by the league office, and it needs to close before Dallas can move forward on its end. Memphis had originally drafted Biberović 56th overall in 2023 but left him in Turkey to keep developing rather than push him to the NBA immediately.
How The Buyout Came Together
Biberović signed a new three-year contract with Fenerbahçe on July 10, 2025, turning down interest from Memphis to stay in Istanbul. That deal carried a $2M buyout clause allowing him to leave for the NBA, and under league rules, Dallas could only contribute up to $900K toward it, leaving Biberović responsible for the rest.
Dallas Hoops Journal has learned the two sides have worked through that gap, with Fenerbahçe likely to receive the full buyout amount to complete the move. That process still runs through the Aldama trade, though. Until Dallas and Memphis formally close that deal, the Mavericks do not officially hold Biberović’s draft rights, and any buyout agreement cannot become final on Dallas’ end. Separately, other outlets had reported his contract also included a distinct NBA out clause tied to a July 7 deadline, adding urgency to the timeline.
Tarik Biberović’s Fit With the Dallas Mavericks
Born January 28, 2001, in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Biberović signed with Fenerbahçe as a teenager and grew into one of the club’s most reliable perimeter threats, helping the team win the 2025 EuroLeague title and four domestic championships along the way. He was named MVP of the 2026 Turkish Cup final.
This past season, Biberović averaged 10.7 points on 39.9% three-point shooting across 36 EuroLeague games, and 12.3 points on 48.9% three-point shooting in Turkish Basketball Super League play. Across eight professional seasons in Europe, he has shot 42.3% from beyond the arc, the kind of track record that made him a known target among NBA teams even before this pending trade sends his rights to Dallas.
The fit addresses an obvious need. Dallas finished 29th in the NBA in three-pointers made per game and 26th in three-point percentage last season, and a wing who moves well without the ball gives Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving another consistent floor spacer to play off of.
A Less Common NBA Path
International buyouts like this one do not happen often, largely because of the mechanics involved. The NBA’s cap on how much a team can contribute toward a European club’s buyout, $900K in Biberović’s case, means the player typically has to cover a meaningful share of the cost himself to get out of his contract early. That structure is part of why players with out clauses often wait a full year, or longer, before making the jump, and why Biberović stayed at Fenerbahçe last summer despite reported interest from Memphis.
Terms of his new contract, including length and whether Dallas taps its roughly $14M mid-level exception or the second-round exception typically used on draft-and-develop prospects like him, have not yet surfaced.
Two things have to happen before any of that becomes official: the Aldama trade needs to close, and the buyout paperwork with Fenerbahçe needs to be finalized. Once both go through, how Dallas structures the deal should say a lot about how big a role the coaching staff envisions for him in his first NBA season.
This article will be updated as Dallas Hoops Journal learns more details.
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