As the Dallas Mavericks prepare to ramp up for the 2026-27 season, there’s a lot of excitement about star point guard Kyrie Irving’s return to the court after missing all of last season with an ACL tear. On paper, Irving figures to be a seamless fit next to second-year phenom Cooper Flagg, but the 15-year age gap between the two is making experts and executives around the NBA wonder if the Mavs might consider trading Irving in the near future.
On a recent ESPN “NBA Today” segment, Tim MacMahon said that the love between the Mavs and Irving is real, but that people are wondering just how long the relationship will last.
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“Kyrie organized that little mini camp that they had. Really, he returns to the role that he had when Luka [Doncic] was in Dallas, and that is the co-star and the vocal leader of the team, the voice in the locker room, the veteran that all these guys look up to and want to listen to. But, I’ll tell you, the question that’s being asked around the league is, for how long?” MacMahon said.
“How long is this fit with Kyrie and the Mavericks? And it’s not because the Mavericks don’t love Kyrie, they do. It’s not because Kyrie doesn’t love Dallas and hasn’t enjoyed his experience there, by and large. He has. But, they’re building around a 19-year-old prodigy in Cooper Flagg. So, could there come a time when it makes sense for both sides to, you know, find a contender for Kyrie to uh to go to?
“These are the kind of things that people around the league will be monitoring leading up to the trade deadline.”
Although it’s a fair topic to discuss, it’s hard to see the Mavs trading Irving anytime soon. It’s also hard to see Irving wanting to leave anytime soon, unless Dallas is just so bad this season that it isn’t even in Play-In Tournament contention by the trade deadline.
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Aside from Irving and Flagg, the Mavs also have a handful of other reasons to be excited about how this upcoming season could turn out. Dallas brought in Dusty May, who recently won an NCAA championship at Michigan, as its new head coach. There are several intriguing players to keep an eye on as well, including No. 9 overall pick Morez Johnson Jr., Sergio De Larrea, Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser, Zaccharie Risacher, Tarik Biberovic, and the return of big man Dereck Lively II, who has been dealing with foot injuries over the last few seasons.
All of that isn’t to say things can’t change in Dallas over the next several months, but for now, the idea of Irving leaving is a non-issue. Preseason is always the best time for optimism, and the last thing Irving and the Mavs are thinking about right now is when their relationship will end. They’re thinking about jumping back into playoff contention as soon as possible.
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