As trade speculation swirls around the struggling Mavericks in the wake of Nico Harrison‘s dismissal from the front office, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said during Wednesday’s episode of the Howdy Partners podcast (YouTube link) that he doesn’t view point guard Kyrie Irving as a serious candidate to be moved during the 2025/26 season.
“What I would tell you about Kyrie is the Mavericks do not want to trade him,” MacMahon said in response to a question from his ESPN colleague Michael C. Wright. “… The only way I think that Kyrie Irving would get traded is if he went to the Mavericks and asked for that to happen. And I don’t have any information that points in that direction.”
As MacMahon explains, while the Mavericks intend to build around No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, that doesn’t mean they want to purge their roster of veteran talent and ask a teenager to become the face and voice of the franchise. Flagg is the NBA’s youngest player and won’t turn 19 for a few more weeks.
Pointing out that Irving has been a respected leader in the Mavericks’ locker room since the team acquired him from Brooklyn in February 2023, MacMahon suggests the point guard still fits into the plans in Dallas going forward and that the Mavs’ preference would be to have Irving “on the floor, in the starting lineup, and as the leader of the team next year.”
What that means for Irving’s playing status this season remains to be seen. During a recent appearance on The Hoop Collective podcast, MacMahon stated that Irving is making good progress from the ACL tear he suffered last March, but speculated that the 33-year-old might not play in 2025/26 “for other reasons.” On Wednesday, he provided more clarity on that remark.
“That was too cryptic. Let me just be clear,” MacMahon said. “The other reason is because this is the one year the Mavericks can benefit from being bad. That’s it. Because they don’t have control of their own (first-round) pick in ’27, ’28, ’29, and ’30. So they’ve got this (2026) pick, and that’s the only pick they control of their own during Cooper Flagg’s rookie deal.”
The Mavericks are off to a 5-14 start this season and have an uphill battle ahead of them to get back into the postseason picture in the Western Conference, especially if they trade some of their other veterans by the February 5 deadline. In other words, the club could be well positioned to snag another lottery pick in 2026 before once again trying to contend for the playoffs in 2026/27.
One reason Dallas has played so poorly this fall is the absence of big man Anthony Davis, who has missed 14 consecutive games due to a calf strain. Davis is expected to make his return on Friday or Saturday, which should make the team more competitive in the short term. However, MacMahon, who previously reported that the Mavs are expected to explore the trade market for Davis this season, stressed on Wednesday that he still very much expects that to happen.
“Trading AD is a real possibility – and I would even say likelihood – this season,” MacMahon told Wright. “Trading Kyrie is not something that’s on the Mavericks’ priority list, or it’s just straight up not something that they are interested in doing right now.”
Irving is in the first season of a three-year, $118.5MM contract that he signed with Dallas over the summer.
Mavs traded doncic for a draft pick & a bucket of kfc
But kyrie is a keeper lol
Players clearly respect Kyrie for his involvement and leadership in the locker room, at practice, on the bench. Kidd and front office too.
Obviously Luka was the face of the franchise but Nico weighed Mamba Mentality-esque practice habits and vocal leadership more, and misjudged personality differences. But Kyrie was the one who recruited Klay and mentors Hardy, B-Will, and Flagg. You can’t get rid of everyone like that.
Agreed. Kyrie and PJ are the leaders of the franchise. Mavs are tanking for a great choice in a loaded draft. If they can get a volume scorer in the draft, that will pair well with Gafford/PJ/Flagg/Irving. AD is as good as gone if they can rebuild some value up to this season’s deadline. Naji can bring a modest return. They will unload Klay and Hardy if they can.
I didn’t realize they got any picks for Doncic. Thank you again Dallas for not wanting JB
Dallas gets: DeMar DeRozan, Dennis Schroeder, Nikola Vucevic, Noa Essengue, Jevon Carter
Sacramento gets: PJ Washington, Patrick Williams, D Russell, Daniel Gafford
Chicago gets: Max Christie, D Exum, Caleb Martin, Doug McDermott , cash from both teams and picks from both teams
I’m still working on it
Remove Jevon Carter*