NBA Insider Clarifies Mavericks' Preference on Trading Kyrie Irving

It will be a big offseason of rumors for the Dallas Mavericks. With Masai Ujiri coming in as the team president, he is hoping to rebuild this team correctly, but it's all about building for the future around Cooper Flagg. Other teams know that, which is why there was expected to be a lot of trade interest in star point guard Kyrie Irving.

Since Ujiri took the job, he has said that he wants to see Irving play with Cooper Flagg. New general manager Mike Schmitz has said the same. What they said to the media and what's going on behind the scenes can be very different things, though.

That doesn't seem to be the case.

NBA insider Marc Stein released a lot of trade intel around the league on Friday night, where he reported that "the Mavericks, thus far this offseason, have been messaging to teams that Irving is not available."

This isn't to say that the Mavericks won't trade Kyrie Irving, as they could still just be trying to drive up the price, but they also like him as a mentor for Cooper Flagg and the younger guys on the roster. It does seem like it would take a substantial offer to pry Irving out of Dallas, which seems unlikely, given that he is 34 years old and coming off missing the entire 2025-26 season due to an ACL injury.

For the trade packages that have been floating out there, it makes no sense to trade Irving, but that could change by the trade deadline if he proves to be healthy and effective, and the Mavs are still barely treading water.

Dec 12, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) laughs with his teammates during the game between the Mavericks and the Nets at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Keeping Kyrie Irving Shouldn't Change Mavericks' Plans

If the Dallas Mavericks do end up keeping Kyrie Irving, they still need to add to the backcourt. Ryan Nembhard is the only other point guard on the roster, and even the shooting guard position is pretty weak. Having the 9th overall pick should help with that, as most of the players projected to go in that range are guards.

Brayden Burries and Mikel Brown Jr. are two lottery guards linked to Dallas in the draft process, but they could stand to add a free agent to that position group, too. The Mavericks have other veterans they could trade away, and Stein has reported the names Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford. There is still plenty of time before the draft, which leaves plenty of time for trades to come into place.

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