The Dallas Mavericks signalled their intent to fast-track their youth movement when they agreed to a buyout with Klay Thompson, leading some to believe that a Kyrie Irving trade may not be far behind. The Miami Heat, a potential suitor for Irving, could have an opening to land the 9-time All-Star.
According to insider Marc Stein, rival teams aren’t convinced the Mavericks don’t want to trade Irving, who has a $42M player option for the 2027-28 season.
“The Mavericks, as we’ve been writing since mid-June, have consistently swatted away trade interest this offseason in nine-times-an-All-Star guard Kyrie Irving,” Stein wrote in his latest Substack on Monday.
“Rival teams, however, continue to wonder aloud about how firmly Dallas will stick to that stance once the season begins and the next in-season trade deadline on Feb. 11 gradually approaches.”
Krie Irving Trade Update
With Irving turning 35 in March, the Mavericks have a big decision to make on the 2016 NBA champion’s future as they enter the Cooper Flagg era.
“The primary factor fueling that curiosity, of course, is that fact that Irving is 34 and Mavericks star forward Cooper Flagg is 19. Not your average age gap between the team’s two best players,” added Stein, highlighting that the Mavs may change their stance about trading Irving ahead of the Feb. trade deadline next year.
It’s worth noting that Irving sought a trade from the Brooklyn Nets ahead of his unrestricted free agency in 2023, before signing an extension with the Mavericks. One wonder if a similar situation plays out in Dallas in February.
Miami Heat Potential Trade
Hypothetically, the Heat could build a package around Andrew Wiggins‘ expiring $30.2M salary and one of Davion Mitchell or Nikola Jovic to acquire Irving.
A mock trade idea doing the rounds can be seen below:
Heat would receive: Kyrie Irving, Sergio De Larrea
Mavericks would receive: Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell
Irving would obviously fill a huge hole in the Heat offense, which projects to lack enough shooting and dribble penetration. While Giannis Antetokounmpo remains a 30-point scoring machine, he has often struggled to close out games due to his streaky jumper. Playing next to Irving, he could thrive in a two-man game, with shooters like Klay Thompson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Simone Fontecchio also standing to benefit.
As for the Mavericks, the incoming Wiggins and Mitchell would be risk-free acquisitions. Both are unrestricted free agents next year, giving Dallas the option let them walk if they don’t prove to be good fits. And there’s no reason to believe that either veteran would hurt their youth movement. Mitchell, 27, especially, could prove to be a nice long-term fit next to Cooper Flagg, Morez Johnson Jr., Zaccharie Risacher, Dereck Lively II, John Poulakidas and Moussa Cisse.
Miami Heat Get Major Kyrie Irving Trade Update After Klay Thompson Move