While some teams around the NBA reportedly question his value, the Dallas Mavericks see a superstar talent still in Kyrie Irving and are expected to give him a huge nine-figure deal this summer.
In February, the Dallas Mavericks made one of the biggest moves of this year’s NBA trade deadline when they acquired 10-time All-Star Kyrie Irving. After having an underwhelming start to the season where they were middle of the road in the NBA standings, the Brooklyn Nets star was viewed as the missing piece to take them back to the elite levels they reached last season.
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However, the exact opposite occurred in the 20 games that the 31-year-old was able to play for the Dallas Mavericks. The team went 8-12 following the blockbuster trade and they turned from a participant in the Western Conference Finals in 2022 to a squad that couldn’t even reach the play-in tournament in 2023.
Dallas Mavericks record (’22-’23): 38-44
It has led many to wonder if Kyrie Irving will be back in a Mavericks uniform next season after he hits NBA free agency in July. However, a new report claims a return is highly likely.
On Tuesday, Bleacher Report NBA reporter Eric Pincus revealed that the word around the NBA Combine in Chicago last week claimed that the Dallas Mavericks and Irving “had a handshake deal before the trade [with the Brooklyn Nets]. And Kyrie wouldn’t have said yes to anything less than the max.”
- Kyrie Irving stats (’22-’23): 27.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 38% 3PT
While Irving is eligible to sign a five-year deal worth $272 million this summer, one source claims that the Mavericks and the star guard may agree on a slightly shorter deal than a max contract. “I hear he’s going back to Dallas on a 3+1 [a player option on the fourth year]. His contract will line up with Luka’s.” an agent told Bleacher Report. Such a deal would be worth $210.1 million.
It will be interesting to see if the rumors are true and if Dallas does live up to the alleged promise they made to the future Hall-of-Famer.