The Kyrie Irving-to-Miami chatter is still floating around the internet, but the numbers are doing most of the talking here.
Irving is set to begin his 16th season in the league after missing the entire 2025-26 schedule with the torn ACL he suffered late in the previous year. At 34, he clearly isn’t supposed to be the Dallas Mavericks’ long-term centerpiece anymore. That job belongs to 19-year-old Cooper Flagg, whose Rookie of the Year season last year was record-breaking.
Even so, Irving remains an All-Star-caliber guard, and he’s under contract with a player option for 2027-28. Dallas is expected to watch how Irving and Flagg fit together early in the season, while other teams keep tabs on Irving’s health after such a long layoff.
The rumor mill has been busy all offseason, with several projections sending Irving elsewhere as the Mavericks’ new front office keeps a close eye on the roster. Miami has drawn the loudest buzz, but Heat beat writer Ira Winderman says the idea doesn’t hold up for long.
“The math and common sense seemingly would make that unlikely, if not impossible (let alone getting into the politics of it all),” Winderman wrote recently in The Sun-Sentinel. “With Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo accounting for so much of the Heat's cap, the remainder of the roster offers limited options in terms of matching salary.”
That cap picture is the crux of it. Miami is trying to win now, which helps explain why it was so aggressive in pursuing Mavs ex Klay Thompson after his buyout in Dallas. Thompson gives the Heat the kind of spacing they need alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, and they’re also believed to be looking for a point guard to run the offense - if they can make the money work.
Irving’s $39.4 million cap hit this season makes that a difficult fit.
Winderman also points to Andrew Wiggins, who is extension eligible and could ease some of the pressure elsewhere. But his role, Winderman suggests, is important enough that it may matter more than chasing Irving.
The cleanest trade construction that gets mentioned is Bobby Portis, Nikola Jovic and Davion Mitchell going to Dallas for Irving. The Mavericks could have interest in Jovic and Mitchell, but that deal would leave them without a true floor general. Dallas also doesn’t have roster room to simply absorb extra players in the swap.
And if Jovic and Mitchell were coming in, the Mavs would likely have to move at least one of the young players they’ve already added this offseason - Tarik Biberovic, Marcus Sasser or Zaccharie Risacher - before any of them even suited up.
Winderman’s bottom line was blunt: “So, yes, there is math that could be argued (albeit not argued very convincingly),” he says. “But common sense, and the lack of remaining Heat draft capital after the Giannis trade, speak otherwise.”
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Kyrie Irving Could Solve The Mavs Problem That Kept Costing Wins
The Mavericks spent much of last season right there in the fight, only to see too many tight games slip away before the finish. A 26-win year left plenty of room for improvement, but it also gave a young roster a seasons worth of lessons in how little margin there is when games tighten late, and why late possessions often decide the difference between a decent record and a frustrating one.
Kyrie Irving changes the equation in a way Dallas has not had before. His reputation as a steadying force in clutch moments is exactly the kind of presence that can help a group that has already been through the grind of close games, and the hope inside the organization is that his veteran feel for those situations can turn all that near-miss experience into actual wins before the season gets away from them. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Fans Have Every Reason To Reject This Bleak Future Outlook
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The optimism starts with the names already on hand and the belief that the group can mature together, especially if health and development break the right way. Kyrie Irving remains a central figure, Dereck Lively II is viewed as a key piece in the frontcourt and Cooper Flagg adds another layer of intrigue to the long view, leaving the Mavericks with a future that feels far less settled than outside evaluations would imply. [Read more 🡒]
Santi Aldama Gives Dallas A Frontcourt Wrinkle Fans Will Notice Fast
Santi Aldama gives the Mavericks a different kind of look in the frontcourt, one that is easy to spot even before he settles in. At 7 feet, he is not just a spacer on the perimeter, but a player who can stretch defenses with his shooting and move the ball well enough to keep an offense flowing from multiple spots on the floor.
Last season offered the blueprint for why Dallas sees him as more than a simple floor stretcher. Aldama took a varied shot diet, got into the paint with real purpose, and showed enough feel as a playmaker to make defenses pay when they overreacted. The broader question now is how quickly that blend of size, touch and decision-making translates into the kind of lineup wrinkle the Mavericks can actually lean on. [Read more 🡒]