If any good news can be accepted in Dallas these days, it’s news surrounding Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving and his injury. Irving went down with a torn ACL late in the season. The development significantly disrupted the Mavericks plans of pairing the former champion with Anthony Davis. It’s fair to suspect that Dallas would have been in a much better position to close out the season if Irving was in the lineup. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out, and the Mavericks ended the season as a play-in team. While Irving is not expected back for the start of the 2025-26 season, he is expected to play again next season.
Mavericks Hopeful of January Return for Kyrie Irving
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports Kyrie Irving’s return to the Dallas Mavericks and potential contract
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Irving could return from injury in January next year. It’s still a long way off, and he would miss the season’s first quarter, but this is the first report of a possible timetable in which Mavericks fans can find some solace. What would work well in Dallas’s favor is if they can stay above water without Kyrie for the beginning part of the next season, so when he does return, the Mavericks are in position to compete and contend for a playoff spot.
There’s no telling at this time how the Mavericks will do even with a fully health AD. Without Kyrie, there will be challenges. That said, Nico Harrison could spend this offseason shifting the roster by adding a piece or two to compensate for Kyrie’s absence. The presently constructed roster as it is today, complimented by Irving, is a playoff team, no question. That is the hope for when Kyrie returns. Aside from that, Shams also reported that the Mavericks intend to sign Kryie to a new three-year deal. The deal would keep the all-star point guard in Dallas for the foreseeable future.
Irving has a player option worth $44 million for next season, which he must decide on by July 25. A three-year deal would mirror AD’s future with the team.
Fully healthy and available, does Dallas have a championship down the line?
If you ask Harrison, the move to trade for Davis in exchange for Luka Dončić was for championship aspirations. From his own mouth, ‘Defense wins championships.’ That’s why AD was brought in. Of course, championships are hard to come by if your team is constantly riddled with injuries, which Davis is commonly attached to. Can Dallas win a title with AD and Kyrie in the lead? They’re certainly contenders. But health has to play the role of the main character. With Davis, the questions will always linger, and concerns over his health will always exist.
If the Mavericks can enter the second half of next season in full health, they have as good a chance as anyone else in the league. That said, if Luka and the Los Angeles Lakers pull a title out of their hats this season, Dallas will have already fallen behind. At that point, they’ll have a few seasons to make the trade that shocked the sports world worth it.
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