The Kyrie Irving situation in Dallas keeps hovering over the Mavericks, and the noise around it hasn’t gone away since the summer. There still isn’t a firm answer on how the organization plans to handle his future, even as the veteran guard has made it clear he’s locked in on the team’s championship mindset.
Irving hasn’t sounded like a player looking for an exit. He said, “I'm not gonna shy away from saying it's been a little chaotic at times, inside the locker room as well as outside…I'm in love with this place just because of how welcoming it was, not just from the franchise aspect but also the fans, lot of support around the city…We're building something…Having that championship mindset that whatever we face we can deal with,”
Still, the possibility of a trade keeps coming up if that ever changes. NBA insider Marc Spears said the Mavericks would likely be willing to work with Irving if he asked out.
“Masai also has a really good relationship as you mentioned with Kyrie Irving. I think it’s the kind of relationship where if Kyrie says, hey, Masai, like, this isn’t for me, I think they could work together to get something done.
I don’t think would be something ugly. I think there would be interest in Kyrie if he’s as healthy as he looks,” Spears said.
CBS Sports’ Brad Botkin pointed to the Houston Rockets as a possible landing spot, arguing the fit would make sense for both sides.
“It just makes too much sense. He’s not on Dallas’ timeline, and he’s one of the few guys who can legitimately move the championship needle if he were to go to the right team.
Think Detroit or Houston. Both of them are immediate top-shelf contenders with Kyrie, and they both have the draft capital Dallas needs to start adding, being that they don’t control their own first-round pick for the next four years,” Botkin wrote.
A deal like that would bring Dallas draft capital in return, but the bigger question is whether the Mavericks actually want to move on from Irving. For now, he remains a major trade name to watch, and how Dallas performs this season could go a long way toward deciding what happens next.
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