Rival teams watching Kyrie Irving situation with Mavericks

The Mavericks aren’t looking to trade Kyrie Irving. That apparently isn’t stopping the rest of the NBA from keeping tabs on him.

According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, rival teams continue to monitor Irving’s situation in Dallas and wonder whether the Mavericks’ position could change before February’s trade deadline. That said, Dallas has rebuffed inquiries.

Still, it’s easy enough to understand why teams are watching. Irving is 34 and entering his 15th NBA season, while Cooper Flagg, the centerpiece of the Mavericks’ future, won’t turn 20 until December.

New president Masai Ujiri and general manager Mike Schmitz have indicated they’re excited to see Irving alongside Flagg. Irving missed all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL.

There’s another wrinkle, too. As Stein noted, virtually everyone Irving grew close to on the Mavericks’ previous coaching staff is gone.

Former coach Jason Kidd was replaced by Dusty May this offseason, God Shammgod left for Orlando last year, and assistant Phil Handy recently agreed to join Nick Nurse’s staff in Philadelphia.

None of that means Irving is going anywhere. But it helps explain why other teams aren’t taking Dallas’ current “no” as necessarily the final answer.

Before tearing his ACL, Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 50 games during the 2024-25 season, shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 40.1 percent on 3-pointers.

He’s due $39.5 million this season and has a $42.4 million player option for 2027-28.

So the Mavericks can say they’re not interested in moving Irving, and they may mean it. Rival teams, meanwhile, appear perfectly willing to keep checking.