Mavericks’ plan for Kyrie Irving has been revealed

Kyrie Irving is one of the last men standing in Dallas from the old guard, but even he might get sent packing over the next several months.

The Dallas Mavericks would like to play their veteran point guard Irving through January and get him to build value, Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports reported on Tuesday. Deveney notes that Dallas would then be looking to see if something could be done with Irving at the trade deadline.

Irving, the nine-time All-Star, missed all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL. While he was away, the Mavericks pivoted into a full rebuild by trading Anthony Davis, hiring Masai Ujiri, firing Jason Kidd, replacing Kidd with Dusty May, and hard-launching a new era based around 19-year-old phenom Cooper Flagg.

Meanwhile, Irving is now 34 years old and about to enter his 15th career NBA season. A 25-ppg scorer for Dallas before he got hurt, Irving will presumably be taking the ball out of Flagg’s hands some once he returns to the court in 2026-27.

That said, the Mavericks have remained committed to Irving all throughout this offseason, rebuffing some notable trade overtures from other teams. Dallas was also said to value one underrated part of Irving’s continued presence on their team.

But that all might change once Irving can rebuild some of his trade value to the point that he commands a feasible return for the Mavericks. Irving is under contract for $39.5 million next season (with a $42.4 million player option for 2027-28 as well), so he could become easier to move for Dallas as the year progresses.