Mavericks Face Kyrie Irving Decision After Latest Development

Irving declined his player option with Dallas for the 2025-26 season in favor of a new deal. The three-time All-NBA guard signed a three-year, $119 million extension during the offseason, which will keep him with the team through 2028. The new contract includes a player option for the 2027-28 season.

On Monday, senior NBA reporter Marc J. Spears shared a big update on Irving’s progress. According to Spears, Irving is closing in on his season debut for the Mavs.

"Kyrie's looking good, he's ahead of schedule," Spears said. "He's working out with the purpose of playing this season.”

Spears reported that optimistically, Irving could potentially make his season debut by late January or around the All-Star break in mid-February.

"Someone close to him told me that if it were the playoffs, he could play right now," Spears continued. "That's [how] ahead of schedule he is."

This latest development regarding Irving, however, could potentially lead to a significant decision for the Mavs. Spears pointed out that the team could face a dilemma with their star guard by the time he’s ready to return.

“But the problem is, who's running the show, right? What's their record going to be?” Spears said. “Will Anthony Davis be back?

"I think by the time he's able to potentially come back in late-January, there's going to be a collective decision from him, from the team, from everybody that's close to him on whether it's worth for him to come back or not.

"But I hear he wants to be back and he's ready."

At the moment, the Mavs are 4-10 and are ranked 13th in the Western Conference. Davis, on the other hand, has no firm timetable for his return, although the latest update on the 10-time All-Star is that he appears to be nearing his comeback.

As Spears noted, however, the Mavs could find themselves in a tough spot by January or February if they are not able to turn things around in the immediate future. Depending on their record, it might not be worth bringing Irving back, despite his desire to play again this season.

The Mavericks are in action on Monday night. They face the 8-5 Minnesota Timberwolves in a road game at Target Center as Dallas looks to make it back-to-back wins.