The Dallas Mavericks may insist Kyrie Irving isn’t going anywhere, but that hasn’t stopped the trade machine from humming.
Irving is back in the rumor mix after a lengthy injury absence, and one media proposal has him landing in Miami to team with Giannis Antetokounmpo. The idea comes from Heavy.com and would send Irving to the Heat in a three-team deal that also pulls the LA Clippers and Dallas into the shuffle.
The Mavericks, of course, have publicly said they want Irving back on the floor and paired with Cooper Flagg. That stance hasn’t quieted outside speculation, especially with Irving’s age and Dallas’ timeline being part of the conversation. Flagg, 19, was the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and won Rookie of the Year.
The proposed framework is a busy one. Darius Garland would go from the LA Clippers to Dallas.
Irving would head to Miami. Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick via Miami would go to the Clippers.
For Dallas, the only player coming back would be Garland, a 26-year-old two-time All-Star who averaged 20.6 points and 6.7 assists in 75 games in 2024-25. That’s the part that gives the deal some appeal on paper.
Still, Mavs insider Grant Afseth wasn’t buying it from Dallas’ perspective. He handed the Mavericks a “D” and pointed to the value leaving the building.
As Afseth wrote: "Grade for Dallas: D. The Mavericks would send out Irving and the only first-round pick they hold before 2031 that no other team has a claim on.
They would take back a guard who is owed ... $42.2 million this season and $44.9 million in 2027-28, the final year of his deal.''
Irving’s own situation adds another layer. He tore his left ACL on March 3, 2025, and did not play in 2025-26.
In 2024-25, he averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists. He also signed a three-year, $118.5 million deal in July 2025, a contract that pays him $39.5 million this season and includes a 15-percent trade kicker plus a $42.4 million player option for 2027-28.
Dallas may still have more moves ahead, with center Daniel Gafford also part of the chatter. But this particular construction doesn’t land for the Mavericks, largely because Miami comes out looking like the big winner. The Heat would add a nine-time All-Star to a group that already includes Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, and they wouldn’t have to give up a first-round pick to do it.
If Dallas eventually decides to move off the Flagg-Irving plan, the goal would be to come out ahead. On this proposal, that doesn’t happen.
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Mavericks Still Have One Big Kyrie Problem To Solve
Training camp is approaching with Dallas still trying to sort out what life looks like at point guard once Kyrie Irving is fully back from ACL recovery. The roster around him has changed quite a bit, with several previous guards moved out and the team trying to patch the position with new faces and internal options. Marcus Sasser and rookie Sergio De Larrea are part of that effort, but the Mavericks are also staring at the possibility that they may need to lean on Cooper Flagg or Naji Marshall at times just to get through the early part of the year.
The bigger question is whether the front office is done searching. Dallas still has room to keep reshaping the backcourt, and the current mix does not fully answer how the team wants to cover those minutes behind Irving. If the guard group still looks thin once camp gets going, the Mavericks could be forced to use one of their frontcourt pieces as trade material to bring in another handler before the season starts. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Martin Could Fill A Mavericks Need That Still Has No Answer
Dallas has done a good job of bolstering its wing depth and adding shooting, but one familiar issue still hangs over the roster: perimeter defense. Caleb Martin could end up being part of the answer. The 30-year-old small forward brings the kind of defensive tools the Mavericks need on the perimeter, and even with his offense going in fits and starts and a history of injuries, he is expected to get a real chance to carve out playing time.
For a team that wants more resistance against opposing star guards, Martins fit is easy to see alongside Kyrie Irvings return in the backcourt mix. The bigger question is whether that defensive promise turns into a steady role when the games start to matter, because Dallas still has to decide how much trust to place in him on a night-to-night basis. [Read more 🡒]
Dirk Just Fueled Mavericks Fans Biggest Cooper Flagg Hope
Dirk Nowitzkis recent praise for Cooper Flagg only added to the optimism already building around the Mavericks young centerpiece. Flagg arrived with the burden that comes with being the No. 1 overall pick, and he spent his rookie season looking the part, producing across the board and giving Dallas plenty to imagine about what comes next.
Nowitzki has not just been watching from afar, either, and that matters for a franchise that has long measured every new star against its greatest one. The Hall of Famer has already spent time around Flagg and remains in touch as a source of advice, a quiet but meaningful sign that the Mavericks biggest hope is getting exactly the kind of guidance that can help turn promise into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]