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Irving to decline option, get massive extension from Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks are committed to keeping Kyrie Irving for the long haul.

Irving has reportedly declined his $43M player option for next season to make way for a three-year, $119M contract extension with the Mavericks. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the All-Star guard’s new deal includes a player option for the 2027-28 campaign.

Dallas had until Tuesday to convince Irving to agree to a new deal before he had to decide on his player option. Based on some of the reports leading up to the deadline, Irving’s extension was far from guaranteed.

Irving reportedly rebuffed Dallas’ previous offers because they were worth less than $40M in annual salary, which he considered “below market value.” While Irving’s new deal still pays him under $40M per season, it’s about as close to the figure as possible.

Dallas betting on a 33-year-old guard coming off a major knee surgery is quite the risk, especially given Irving’s dynamic style of play. He is slated to miss most of the 2025-26 season as he recovers from his torn ACL suffered in March. But with the Mavs needing to be “all-in” to vindicate the Luka Doncic trade, potentially having Irving walk for nothing next offseason would have been an even worse result.

Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists across 50 games last season before the injury.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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