Kyrie Irving’s Mavericks contract contains 2 notable incentives
Mar 5, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (2) in action during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Mavericks made Kyrie Irving’s contract extension official on Saturday, and it contains two noteworthy annual incentives.
According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, Irving stands to earn an extra $1 million for every season he plays in at least 65 regular season games. He also gets another $1 million for 50 team wins with a minimum of 58 games played.
Kyrie Irving’s annual incentives:
$1M for 65 games played
$1M for 50 wins (minimum 58 games played) https://t.co/foxUGMhgIh— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) July 8, 2023
There is some salary cap trickery involved here. These incentives are qualified as “unlikely” solely because Irving would not have achieved them last season. That means they do not count toward the first luxury tax “apron.”
Between injuries and his vaccine stance, Irving has not actually played 65 games in a season since 2018-19, his final year with the Boston Celtics. Last season, he was troubled by a foot injury down the stretch, and wound up playing 60 games between Brooklyn and Dallas.
