Kyrie Irving remains in Dallas, and for now, the Mavericks are giving no sign that stance is changing. According to Brett Siegel, Masai Ujiri and company have not sent anyone the message that Irving is anywhere close to being available.
"There's been no trade talks over the last month regarding Kyrie Irving. Teams reached out near the start of free agency to inquire about his availability. ... The message to them was Kyrie's not available."
That position makes some sense on the surface. The Mavericks should not be rushing to dump Irving for the sake of making a move. But the reluctance to even entertain the bigger picture is where things get murky.
Irving is 34, and his timeline does not line up cleanly with Dallas’ long-term plans. If the Mavericks are still years away from being a true championship threat again, Irving may not be around in the same way when that window opens. And if his injury leaves him diminished, or he ends up back in street clothes, Dallas may have already passed on its best chance to cash in while his value was still strong.
There is also the possibility that Irving still offers something more immediate than a trade return. His experience and the maturity he has shown over the years make him a natural mentor, and his career will one day land him in the Hall of Fame. That kind of presence can matter in a locker room.
Still, the bigger question hangs over the Mavericks: what if this is the moment to get the most back for him?
A desperate team would likely pay a premium for Irving because most contenders still see him as a star. The last time he was on the floor, he was putting up 24.7 points and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 47-40-92. That is the kind of production that can push a team to overpay for backcourt help.
Dallas may be looking for stability after the upheaval and struggles of the past couple of seasons. But stability can come with a price, and in this case, that price could be losing the best opportunity to trade Kyrie Irving at peak value.
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Any offseason conversation around the Warriors and Mavericks has to start with fit, and this one is no different. The proposal on the table is built around Golden State trying to squeeze one more meaningful run out of Stephen Currys prime while Dallas would be asked to weigh whether its current frontcourt mix still makes sense against the rest of the roster and the contracts attached to it.
What makes the idea interesting from a Mavericks standpoint is that it is not just about adding a star, but about deciding which pieces are truly redundant and which ones remain essential. The framework suggests Dallas could be looking at a reshaped rotation rather than a simple talent swap, with the real question being whether the team is ready to move on from some of its current size and flexibility in exchange for a different kind of top-end punch. [Read more 🡒]
Zaza Put Dirk In Rare Company With His Best Leaders Ever
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Pachulia described Curry as someone who leads with care for people, Nowitzki as a veteran whose humor never got in the way of his focus, and Kidd as a coach who brought structure and taught players to think ahead on the floor. For Dallas fans, it is another reminder that Nowitzkis impact went well beyond scoring and longevity, and that his presence still sits comfortably alongside some of the sharpest basketball minds Pachulia has seen. [Read more 🡒]
ESPN Is Still Ignoring The Biggest Reason Mavericks Fans Believe
The Mavericks spent the offseason making real changes around the edges and at the top, adding Morez Johnson Jr., Sergio De Larrea and Tobi Lawal in the draft while also bringing in Marcus Sasser, Santi Aldama, Zaccharie Risacher and Tarik Biberovic via trade. Dallas also turned to Dusty May as its new head coach, a move that signaled a fresh start after a season that left plenty of questions about where the roster was headed.
Even with that turnover, ESPN still slotted Dallas at No. 23 in its post-offseason power rankings, a clear sign the national view has not caught up to the optimism inside the fan base. The bigger argument around the Mavericks is whether the new pieces and coaching change are enough to push them back into the playoff conversation, and whether the people projecting the standings are still underestimating how much the roster can change once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]