Following the dismissal of general manager Nico Harrison, many have wondered if the Dallas Mavericks were prepared to undergo a full rebuild based around star rookie Cooper Flagg. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Minority owner Mark Cuban has already come out and said that the team doesn’t plan to trade veteran forward Anthony Davis because they “want to try to win,” and it seems they’re applying the same approach to star guard Kyrie Irving, who is currently sidelined while recovering from an ACL tear suffered last season.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Mavericks want Irving to be part of their future.
“The Mavericks have made it clear privately that they want Kyrie Irving as a complete part of their future moving forward. … The Mavericks value his leadership on the court, off the court, and his fit with Coopper Flagg, too,” Charania said during an appearance on NBA Today. “Cooper Flagg is going to need a point guard whenever [Irving] is able to be back on the court. … They want him a part of their future moving forward.”
This isn't especially surprising. Sure, at 33 Irving is on the older side for the NBA, but he's still an extremely productive player. In 50 appearances for the Mavs last season he averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. With guard play at a premium in the league today, it makes sense that the Mavs would want to hold on to one of the best.
Irving still has two years and over $80 million remaining on his current contract, which includes a player option for the 2027-28 season.
It remains to be seen if Irving will return to game action this season. By the time he might potentially be ready to return, the Mavs could be so far out of the playoff picture that it wouldn't make much sense to bring him back.
We'll have to wait and see how the season progresses for both Irving and the Mavs, but it certainly doesn't sound like a trade involving the star guard is on the horizon.