Kyrie Irving just suffered an ACL tear at a really inopportune time, but it sounds like the Dallas Mavericks may still be trying to do right by him.
Mike A. Curtis of the Dallas Morning News appeared Tuesday on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back.” During the appearance, Curtis addressed Irving’s future with the Mavericks and said that Irving may still be in line for a max contract extension from Dallas this offseason in spite of his injury.
“The goal is to keep Kyrie in Dallas as long as they can,” Curtis said. “Before the injury, he was definitely on track for a max extension. I think that’s still the case.
“I don’t think you just wanna have a guy for a year and risk him leaving in free agency the year after,” added Curtis. “I think they want to lock [Kyrie] in as soon as they can.”
The nine-time All-Star Irving currently holds a $44 million player option for 2025-26 and was all lined up for that max extension from Dallas this offseason before his injury. But after suffering his ACL tear during a game earlier this month (video here), many figured that all bets were off for Irving.
Irving will be 33 years old later this month and may now be sidelined for the entire first half of next season given how late in this season his injury occurred. Known for his one-on-one explosiveness and shiftiness as a dribbler as well, there is real concern over how Irving might look once he comes back from such a serious knee injury.
That said, the Mavericks essentially chose Irving as their primary scorer and ball-handler for the foreseeable future by trading away Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers last month. Irving, a longtime former Nike athlete, also has a very strong relationship with Dallas GM Nico Harrison, the ex-Nike executive who notably released an emotional statement about Irving in the wake of Irving’s ACL tear.
As it stands right now, the full max contract that Irving is eligible for from the Mavericks would be for five years and $313 million. While it would obviously be an incredible risk to pay a post-ACL tear Irving over $62 million per year through his age-38 season, that appears to be a serious consideration on the table right now for Dallas.
