Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving is expected to decline his player option worth $42.9 million for the 2025-26 season. He is, however, also expected to re-sign with the team, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
“I don’t hear anyone forecasting scenarios where Kyrie Irving is no longer a Maverick,” Stein said on the DLLS Sports podcast. “I haven’t heard one scenario presented where he ends up with another team. But I also don’t have a handy projection for how this contract is going to turn out.
“During the season, the whispers that were going around was that the Mavs would like to do a three-year deal in the $40 (million) a year range. So, a three-year deal that was $120 (million) again.”
Stein also said two key circumstances have changed since that initial contract projection. Luka Doncic was traded, thus making Irving’s ball-handling and playmaking all the more valuable. Irving tore his ACL in March and further complicated what a next offer could and should look like.
Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 50 games this season. He last played at least 65 games in a season in 2018-19 while with the Boston Celtics.
Irving Uncertainty Heightens Value Of No. 1 Pick
While it appears certain Irving will be back in a Mavericks uniform, the future very much rests on Cooper Flagg’s shoulders.
He is expected to be selected first overall by Dallas in the 2025 NBA Draft and a lot hinges on how he develops. Irving has had knee issues in the past, including a broken knee cap, so he will do very well to return anywhere near peak form.
Availability will also be a major concern with him going into his age-34 season. Couple that with Anthony Davis’s own health concerns and there is very little firm ground in the present.
The theoretical ceiling of a team featuring Irving, Flagg and Davis is extremely high. But it remains just a theory for now. What can be safely said is Irving appears to have found a home in Dallas, despite spending just 2.5 seasons there.
If his play can match the optimism he has shown in his recovery, there may be hope for Mavs fans — both in the present and future.
