Discouraging injury update on Mavericks' Kyrie Irving revealed

This is probably not the news that Mavericks fans wanted to hear.

Nov 14, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving looks on during the second half against the LA Clippers in an NBA Cup game at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks are still awaiting the return of star guard Kyrie Irving. He tore his ACL back in March of 2025 against the Sacramento Kings after a freak injury where he stepped on somone's foot and then landed awkwardly.

There was a lot of chatter throughout the offseason that Irving may be ahead of schedule in his rehab, and could come back sooner than expected, but that took a nosedive after a report from ESPN's Tim MacMahon this week.

“With Patrick Dumont in that decision-making seat, what he wants is to see the core trio, and that's Kyrie Irving, yes, [Anthony] Davis, then Cooper Flagg, together before making any major decisions. Now, the problem with that, based on what I'm hearing, Kyrie is not coming back before the trade deadline," MacMahon said on the "Howdy Partners" podcast.

“Even if he did, it would be a tiny sample size. So you're not going to have that luxury of that evaluation period before one major decision needs to be made, and whether that's trade him or don't trade him. Either way, it is a major decision. I don't know at this point if Kyrie is playing this season. I know he wants to. We'll see if that's in his best interest. We'll see if it's in the franchise's best interest. Those are things that need to be sorted out."

READ MORE: 3 overreactions as Mavericks lose Anthony Davis to another injury, fall again to Jazz

How Will the Dallas Mavericks Navigate the Trade Deadline?

The Dallas Mavericks would prefer to see their star trio all play together at least a few times, but with how often Anthony Davis gets hurt, they may not have that kind of time. He just went down again on Thursday night against the Utah Jazz with a left hand injury, and went back to the locker room with about two minutes remaining. He's supposed to have imaging done on Friday before the Mavericks play in Davis' hometown against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.

There does remain interest in Anthony Davis on the trade market, and while the demand may be low, and the Mavericks would prefer to get some draft picks back for him. They just need to trade him before he seriously hurts himself, and a team can't talk themselves into trading him.

The Mavericks should focus on trading Davis as soon as they can, prioritizing expiring contracts and draft picks. They should want to tank the rest of this season to take advantage of this being the last year they own their first-round pick until 2031.

READ MORE: Analyst predicts Dallas Mavericks could trade Anthony Davis to Eastern Conference

Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2025-26 season

Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Austin Veazey on Twitter

More Dallas Mavericks News

• Atlanta Hawks have 'explored' path to trade for Mavericks' Anthony Davis

• Rich Paul wants 'clarity' from Mavericks about plans for Anthony Davis

• Mavericks announce season-ending news for rising young player

• 3 overreactions as Cooper Flagg's brilliance leads Mavericks to win over Nuggets