Mavericks rumors: ESPN insider makes Kyrie Irving trade prediction with Masai Ujiri in charge

With the Dallas Mavericks hiring Masai Ujiri as the replacement for Nico Harrison, the goal now is to see how he will build the team with Cooper Flagg at the center. As rumors surround Ujiri and the Mavericks with the moves he could make, this ESPN insider discusses the potential trade of guard Kyrie Irving.

As the star missed the entire season recovering from a torn ACL in the year prior, Irving is set to return in 2026 to pair with Cooper Flagg after an impressive rookie campaign. However, could Ujiri trade Irving for assets?

ESPN’s Jeremy Woo would say that “finding trade value for a healthy Irving becomes prudent,” depending on whether he gets back to playing elite basketball.

“What Dallas likely won’t want to do is straddle two timelines, meaning that finding trade value for a healthy Irving likely becomes prudent if he gets back to top form. How Ujiri evaluates the rest of the roster and how proactive he decides to be in upgrading the team in his first offseason should be telling,” Woo wrote.

“The Western Conference is a perennial gauntlet, and the Mavericks have to be taking the big-picture view on how to time their window with Flagg, particularly with the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs contending sustainably around young star talent,” Woo continued.

The timetable with Mavericks’ Masai Ujiri and Cooper Flagg

The question that people have about Ujiri is the “kind of timetable” he will have when building around the 19-year-old Flagg and whether they want to compete right away or do a soft rebuild.

“But they likely also are multiple moves from being a playoff team, and from having any future contending chance align with Flagg’s prime. It can’t be stressed enough how far ahead of schedule Flagg showed to be on the offensive end this season — a development many around the NBA feel gives him a chance to develop into being one of the league’s best players,” Woo wrote.

It remains to be seen what Ujiri does in his first offseason with Dallas after the team finished with a 26-56 record.