The Dallas Mavericks’ offseason has already taken a few sharp turns, and Kyrie Irving now sits right in the middle of the uncertainty.
Dallas made one of the biggest swings of the summer by moving on from head coach Jason Kidd. As ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported, “Jason Kidd is out as the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks after five seasons in what the team described as a mutual decision Tuesday evening.
Kidd has four years and more than $40 million remaining on his contract, sources told ESPN. But Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont, who extended Kidd's contract during Dallas' NBA Finals run in 2024 and again before last season after they declined the New York Knicks ' request to interview him, gave new president Masai Ujiri full authorization to determine the coach's future with the franchise," ESPN's Tim MacMahon wrote.”
That change came with new management, and that shift has pushed a few roster questions into the spotlight. Irving’s name is one of them. Earlier in the summer, he looked like a safe piece of the puzzle, but the picture has gotten murkier as Dallas reshapes itself.
Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz have both said they expect Irving to stay, believing he and Cooper Flagg can work well together. But there are obvious complications.
Irving is 34 and is coming back from an ACL injury. By the time he plays in October, 19 months will have passed since his last NBA game.
As SI’s Austin Veazey wrote, “Kyrie Irving also wants to be in Dallas. He feels comfortable with the city, which is not something you can say for every other stop he has made in his career."
Still, the questions aren’t going away. The biggest reason is the gap between Irving and Flagg, the 19-year-old forward Dallas is building around.
Marc Stein of The Stein Line noted that the Mavericks have kept brushing aside trade interest in Irving, but rival teams are still watching to see how long that stance lasts, especially with the Feb. 11 trade deadline approaching. Stein pointed to the age difference as the main reason for the speculation, writing, “The primary factor fueling that curiosity, of course, is that fact that Irving is 34 and Mavericks star forward Cooper Flagg is 19.
Not your average age gap between the team's two best players,” The Stein Line’s Marc Stein wrote.
That’s the tension Dallas is living with now. Irving wants to stay.
The Mavericks appear to value him. But new leadership may eventually decide it needs a player whose timeline lines up more cleanly with Flagg’s.
That would be a major loss for Dallas, because Irving is still a proven star. At the same time, the Mavericks seem to be trying to do what the Los Angeles Lakers did last season: fit two different timelines onto one roster.
Flagg represents the future, while Irving is in the later stretch of his career. If that balance gets too hard to maintain, Irving could wind up on the trade block by the deadline.
In Other News...
Klay Thompson Just Handed Mavericks Fans A New Preseason Slight
Klay Thompsons arrival in Miami already had enough intrigue attached to it, but the move came with a familiar sting for Mavericks fans too. After clearing waivers, Thompson signed with the Heat on a first-year deal worth $5.6 million, a structure that gave Miami the flexibility it wanted while adding a veteran scorer with championship experience to a roster chasing a bigger spring.
At his introductory press conference, Thompson framed the coming season as a redemption year, which fit the tone of a player trying to reset the conversation around him. He later sharpened that message in an interview, making clear that his new team views the road ahead one way while Dallas is stuck dealing with the optics of an old rival now talking like he has found a better landing spot elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Face New Kyrie Irving Debate At The Worst Time
Kyrie Irvings return from a torn ACL gives the Mavericks a big swing piece heading into next season, but it has also reopened a familiar conversation about how he fits long term. Dallas expects him back on the floor, and for a team trying to keep its competitive window open, that alone makes him one of the most important names on the roster. Still, whenever a star guard carries both high-end talent and a complicated track record, the noise around his future rarely stays quiet for long.
Some of that noise has come from outside the building, with trade speculation surfacing as the Mavericks weigh their next steps around a roster built to contend. For now, the front office is publicly signaling calm, and Irvings recovery only adds another layer to the equation: Dallas wants to see what this group looks like when he is healthy again, even as the league keeps wondering whether the conversation eventually shifts in a very different direction. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Face A Familiar Problem Whenever Kyrie Irving Sits
Kyrie Irvings return from the ACL injury that wiped out his previous season is a major boost for Dallas, but it also brings back an issue the Mavericks cant really avoid. At some point in the 2026-27 season, Irving is likely going to need rest, and when he does, the teams margin for error in the backcourt gets a lot thinner.
Dallas is already looking at a backup guard situation that leans heavily on youth and limited experience, which makes those non-Irving minutes a key pressure point. How well the Mavericks handle those stretches could go a long way toward shaping their season, because the offense and overall stability will depend on whether the second-unit guards can keep things afloat until Irving is back on the floor. [Read more 🡒]