Mavericks trade – With Dallas already deep into a sweeping organizational reset—after drafting Cooper Flagg, trading away Anthony Davis in the Luka Dončić deal, and parting ways with Jason Kidd—the team is now weighing whether keeping Kyrie Irving still fits a short-term partne
Dallas has been rebuilding in layers, and every layer has carried the same message: the Mavericks are no longer trying to patch the past—they’re trying to start over.
Last summer, the franchise drafted Cooper Flagg first overall. Since then. the organization’s front office and leadership have shifted hard enough to make the word “reset” feel literal. not rhetorical. Dallas changed lead executives from Nico Harrison to Masai Ujiri. It shipped away the primary player it received in the shocking Luka Dončić trade—Anthony Davis. And it split from its former head coach, Jason Kidd.
ESPN’s Shams Charania described it as “a complete restart for the entire organization.”
In that context, Dallas expressing interest in seeing Flagg’s fit with Irving can sound like a normal basketball question. On the court, the talents could mesh. Flagg and Irving conceivably could coexist. and the idea of pairing star-level playmaking with a potential cornerstone wing can’t be dismissed just because it feels uncomfortable.
But the bigger problem for the Mavericks isn’t whether the pairing works on paper. It’s whether it works for the kind of rebuild they’ve already committed to—one that relies on building foundations, not borrowing time.
Irving is 34 years old, and he comes with injury issues and contract uncertainty. Even if the on-court chemistry is real, the partnership would be short-term. Holding onto a veteran with that kind of profile runs directly against the direction Dallas has been moving since it began its institutional overhaul.
The practical next step, the argument goes, is the upcoming draft. Dallas holds three picks there, including No. 9. The Mavericks could use that selection to start laying the foundation around Flagg—but the draft alone won’t solve everything if Dallas keeps tying its roster to a timeline that doesn’t line up with the youth movement it’s signaling.
That is where the discussion turns toward Jalen Suggs, the No. 5 pick of the 2021 NBA Draft. The reasoning is straightforward: Dallas could afford to be patient with Suggs’ offensive growth. If the Mavericks are leaning toward a lead guard with the No. 9 pick, Suggs’ defense—earned through his All-Defensive Second Team recognition in 2023-24—could become the stabilizing complement.
A Flagg-Suggs tandem could be elite defensively and built for transition. creating a foundation that doesn’t depend on short-term roster bets. The draft picture also leaves room for other long-term building blocks. including prospects like Houston’s Kingston Flemings. Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. or Arizona’s Brayden Burries.
Dallas still has a major question mark around Dereck Lively II’s availability issues. and the plan clearly aims to reduce the franchise’s reliance on any single piece staying fully healthy. Even if the team doesn’t know the exact shape of its future around Lively. it can still build toward a core that can survive uncertainty.
That’s also where draft capital starts to matter. The Mavericks don’t control their own first-round pick again until 2031. So the incentive is to keep adding pieces now—especially if keeping Irving means absorbing financial and roster constraints that could crowd out the kind of acquisition flexibility a long rebuild requires.
The case for exiting the Irving business leans on what that move could unlock: a deal that brings in additional draft assets. including a few second-rounders. The logic is that Irving’s age and uncertainty would likely shape the return. More assets could also come if Dallas were to dangle plug-and-play veterans such as P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford and Naji Marshall.
For Dallas, none of this exists in a vacuum. Flipping away from the Luka Dončić era has already been marked as an effort to distance the franchise from that original mistake. The Mavericks didn’t just move on—they shipped away Anthony Davis. the primary player received in the Dončić trade. after the team moved through its own leadership upheaval.
Now, moving on again—this time from Kyrie Irving—would read as another continuation of that same strategy: stop stretching the timeline, collect assets, and build the next version of Dallas around Flagg.
If the Mavericks truly want redemption to look like something measurable—youth, depth, draft capital, and defensive structure—then keeping Irving through the next stage may be the one decision that doesn’t fully fit the plan they’ve already started building.
Dallas Mavericks Kyrie Irving Cooper Flagg Jalen Suggs NBA draft Masai Ujiri Nico Harrison Jason Kidd Luka Dončić Anthony Davis Dereck Lively II P.J. Washington Daniel Gafford Naji Marshall Kingston Flemings Mikel Brown Jr. Brayden Burries