What is Kyrie Irving's Future with the Mavericks?

What is Kyrie Irving’s Future with the Mavericks?

On February 3, Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. There had been drama between Irving and the Nets’ front office since he joined the franchise. Ranging from abrupt absences from the team to the COVID vaccine refusal, there were a handful of frustrations that the Nets had towards Irving. Due to this, their front office was unwilling to commit to him long-term and refused to offer a max contract extension. Subsequently, Irving sought a new team that would respect him more and offer him a max contract. 

The Dallas Mavericks decided to take a huge risk at the trade deadline to acquire Kyrie Irving. They traded Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick, and two second-round picks in order to get him. However, due to Irving’s expiring contract upon the end of the 2023 season, the Mavericks were only guaranteed to have him for about two and a half months, meaning that the depth and picks that they traded away could be for nothing if the team accomplished nothing that season and Irving decided to leave. So far, the trade has been a disaster for the Mavericks as they collapsed after the trade and missed the playoffs entirely. If Irving decides to leave in free agency, this will be a historically bad trade for the Mavericks, so it is important to analyze potential routes that he may go this offseason.

Joining the Lakers

Almost any time that a star enters free agency, the Lakers are mentioned as a potential destination. This year, the trend continues with Kyrie Irving. However, the Laker rumors carry more weight in this instance because LeBron James is a Laker and has openly stated that he wants Irving on the team. James and Irving have played very well together before, with three finals appearances and one championship on the Cavaliers. Since then, Irving has expressed regret over his attitude towards James and has implied that he would like to play alongside him again.

The Lakers may seek to sign Irving in order to replace their current starting point guard D’angelo Russell, who had a very underwhelming showing in this year’s playoffs. However, the Lakers are facing multiple upcoming contract decisions of key roleplayers on their team. Due to this, the Lakers may face the risk of losing a great portion of their depth in order to sign Irving. Given Irving’s reputation of being unpredictable and unreliable, the Lakers may not risk losing their depth to sign him. So far, there has not been a strong push by the Lakers to acquire Irving. However, the possibility still remains open, especially if Lebron pressures the Lakers’ front office.

Re-signing with the Mavericks

Another common speculation of Irving’s free agency is that he will simply re-sign with the Mavericks. Many of the other teams that want him such as the Clippers and Suns, do not have the cap space to acquire him. The Mavericks will likely re-sign Irving at any price in a desperate effort to avoid damaging their roster even further. Also, the Mavericks will probably seek to move on from some of their current roleplayers on bad contracts in order to free up more space to re-sign Irving and improve the roster. These roleplayers include Davis Bertans, Javale McGee and Tim Hardaway Jr. If the Mavericks can find a trade destination for these three players, their chances of re-signing Irving increase.

Irving is a player known for his independent mindset and strong commitment to his personal beliefs. So ultimately, no one really knows what Irving plans to do this offseason besides himself. However, the Lakers and Mavericks are the most projected destinations for him up to this point.

Stay tuned for more breaking NBA content, including offseason moves, contract updates and more news from every team.

“From Our Haus to Yours”

Time Stamp:

More from The Games Haus