Kyrie Irving apparently will not have to keep a spare bag packed.
The Dallas Mavericks have no interest in trading away their star Irving, Shams Charania of ESPN reported Thursday during an appearance on “NBA Today.” Charania noted that Dallas wants Irving as a “complete part of their future moving forward” and that they value his leadership as well as his fit with rookie phenom Cooper Flagg.
Irving is signed with the Mavericks through at least 2027 and also holds a $42.4 million player option for 2027-28. But Irving is getting up there in age (turning 34 next March) and has not played all season as he recovers from a torn left ACL in his left knee suffered roughly eight-and-a-half months ago.
Dallas is sputtering right now in the injury absence of Irving and several other key players. They are now 4-12 on the season, which is 13th in the Western Conference and all but a death blow given how brutal the West always is.
That means the Mavericks could potentially be sellers ahead of the February trade deadline, especially after firing GM Nico Harrison and seemingly parting ways with Harrison’s win-now timeline too. As a result, multiple other All-Stars on Dallas’ roster have already been mentioned as possible trade candidates.
Nevertheless, it appears that Irving might be the one veteran on the Mavericks whose place is the safest. Dallas also recently got an encouraging update on Irving’s ACL recovery and will fully look to keep the nine-time NBA All-Star around as a bedrock piece moving forward.
