In the latest step in his recovery from a torn ACL that forced him to miss the entire season, Kyrie Irving put his skills on display Tuesday at the NBPA Top 100 Camp in Rock Hill, South Carolina, according to BasketNews. The Mavericks guard offered advice and motivation to the top 100 high school players in the United States, then gave some of them a chance to face him one-on-one in the Can You Guard Kyrie Challenge (Twitter video link from NBA Central).
The team hasn’t provided an official update on Irving’s status, but he was reportedly impressive in his battles with the high school stars. Irving said recently on social media that he’s nearly 100% recovered.
“This mission is bigger than just the basketball court,” he told the players. “I pray that you guys understand that you have a chance to change your life with the game of basketball, to utilize it as a vehicle to take you around the world, to meet different people, gain insight, gain knowledge. Last year, I had a very traumatic injury, tore my ACL. And just to be back out here in front of you guys, it’s just an honor. I don’t take for granted, man, it’s been a long year, mentally, emotionally, something – when something that you love gets taken away from you for a temporary moment, that really defines you.”
There’s more on the Mavericks:
- Dallas didn’t get much value in terms of players by trading Anthony Davis to Washington, but unloading his $58.5MM salary for next season puts the team in much better financial shape, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron states in his offseason preview. The Mavs currently have 13 players under contract for 2026/27 with a total commitment of $161.8MM. They are comfortably below both aprons and roughly $38MM away from the luxury tax line. They also created a $20.8MM trade exception in the Davis deal that enables them to sign someone for up to $21MM. In addition, Dallas has access to the $15MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception as well as the $5.5MM bi-annual exception. Gozlan notes that using that space to take on unwanted salary from other teams could be an easy way to restock the Mavericks’ future draft assets.
- One of the team’s most important offseason decisions will be whether to extend Naji Marshall, who will become eligible for a new deal on July 6, Gozlan adds. Marshall should attract plenty of trade interest with an expiring $9.4MM contract, but the Mavs have indicated that they want to keep him as part of their future. Gozlan projects a new deal in the range of the MLE at around $45MM over three years, which is low enough to avoid creating a six-month trade restriction.
- Dereck Lively II will also be extension-eligible, Gozlan notes, but the Mavericks are unlikely go that route since injuries have caused him to miss 121 games over the past two seasons. Gozlan expects that the new front office will want to watch Lively for a year before making a decision.
- Gozlan also suggests that 36-year-old Klay Thompson might become a buyout candidate whether he stays in Dallas or gets traded. Thompson will have a $17.5MM expiring contract and isn’t in the situation he expected when he signed with the Mavs to team up with Luka Doncic on a contender. Gozlan points out that Dallas could take back up to $26.5MM in a Thompson deal.