Kyrie Irving’s name is already floating through the league, and the reason is simple: teams are watching Dallas closely. The veteran guard missed all of last season after an ACL injury, but he has recovered and is expected to be ready for the start of the new campaign. Even so, Marc Stein reported that Irving could be on the move before the February trade deadline.
“The Mavericks, as we've been writing since mid-June, have consistently swatted away trade interest this offseason in nine-time All-Star guard Kyrie Irving,” Stein wrote. “Rival teams, however, continue to wonder aloud about how firmly Dallas will stick to that stance.
“The primary factor fueling that curiosity, of course, is the 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.”
With that uncertainty hanging over him, several teams stand out as possible landing spots.
Memphis looks like one of the clearest fits. The Grizzlies lost Ja Morant, and without him they do not have a proven lead guard who can run the offense at the same level.
Irving would fill that void immediately, and Memphis also has the most cap space heading into the new season. The question is whether the team wants to make a major commitment to a 34-year-old guard coming off an ACL injury when it is not expected to contend right away.
Scotty Pippen Jr. and D'Angelo Russell are already there, but neither offers Irving’s mix of scoring and playmaking.
Boston would bring a different kind of intrigue. The Celtics are roughly $10 million below the first apron, which makes the money side of any deal tricky because they cannot just take on Irving’s $39.4 million salary.
Still, the fit on the floor is easy to see. Derrick White and Mike Conley are already in the backcourt, but Irving would add another elite shot creator, and his history in Boston makes the reunion angle impossible to ignore.
The challenge is finding a path that works financially. Paul George’s contract could be part of the equation, but Boston would first need another team to take that deal.
Brooklyn also belongs on the list. A return to the Nets would give Irving a familiar setting and a roster with enough flexibility to absorb his contract.
The team already has Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle, so Irving would not be asked to do everything by himself. Instead, he could step in as the primary scorer and creator for a young team trying to speed up its rebuild.
Chicago is another club with the room to make a move. The Bulls have around $1.9 million in cap space and about $43 million in first-apron flexibility, which gives them options to structure a deal.
Irving would solve a major problem by adding another top-level creator to a backcourt that already includes Josh Giddey and Norman Powell. Chicago also has a solid frontcourt with Nic Claxton, Patrick Williams and Caleb Wilson, giving the roster some balance around him.
Toronto rounds out the list as one of the more intriguing possibilities. The Raptors are still in rebuild mode, and Immanuel Quickley could serve as the centerpiece of a trade since his contract is worth roughly $32 million compared to Irving’s $39.4 million salary.
Toronto has enough flexibility to cover the difference, and Dallas would get a guard who fits with its younger core. The Raptors also have RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes, and with a deal for Kawhi Leonard in the mix, Irving could be the piece that pushes them back toward the top.
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