Kyrie Irving is one year away from getting the option to leave the Dallas Mavericks, and at that point he’ll be approaching his longest tenure anywhere since leaving Cleveland, where he was drafted in 2017.
Still, the spunky guard seemed to suggest Dallas could remain his basketball home even after 2025, as he lost in five games to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals in his first full season with co-star Luka Doncic.
Doncic’s player option is up a year after Irving’s, i.e. after the 2025-26 season. And every other rotation player in the playoffs except guard Derrick Jones Jr. is under contract through next season.
“I see an opportunity for us to build our future in a positive way, where it’s almost like a regular thing for us, and we’re competing for championships,” Irving said after Dallas’ 106-88 loss in Game 5.
Irving left Boston in free agency in 2019 and has been constantly booed by Celtics fans ever since. His 3.5 seasons in Brooklyn were filled with mostly self-induced drama, to the point that he ultimately demanded a trade after doing the same to part ways with LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
(Kyrie Irving understands why Celtics fans hate him. He’s ready to explain himself)
When the Mavs acquired Irving, an eight-time All-Star, at the deadline last year, his reputation around the league was already tarnished. Things have changed in 16 months.
“From a spiritual standpoint, I think I’ve enjoyed this journey more than any other season, just because I’ve gotten to learn so much about myself and my teammates and the organization and the people around me,” Irving said. “There’s a lot of good people here, so it’s a lot of fun to come to work.”
The Mavericks don’t have much room under the salary cap, but the question will be whether they’re missing a more dangerous third scoring option.
Doncic, 25, is entering his prime in the tough Western Conference, where he has reached the conference finals twice in the past three seasons.
But Dallas was a surprise team both times, and couldn’t hold up over the last five games. The next level would be to get this far without being a surprise, perhaps as the favorite to win the title.
“When you have one of the best players in the world, you’re always going to be contending for a championship,” coach Jason Kidd said.
Such progress might be needed to keep Irving and Doncic together beyond 2025-26, or to keep Doncic in Dallas as long as retired star Dirk Nowitzki lasts — a record 21 seasons with the same franchise.
While Irving and Doncic played the entire season, the Mavs like to talk about being together for just five months. That’s when trade-deadline additions Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington came in and helped give Dallas a defensive mindset that became crucial to a deep playoff run.
The conversation was completely reset for Doncic and Irving last fall. 3.5 months later, the discussion will be about Gafford, Washington and emerging 7-foot-1 star Derek Lively II, Dallas’ rookie first-round pick, who will be having their first training camp together.
“We made some great moves,” said Doncic, who won his first scoring title. “I would say we’ve been together for five months. We didn’t win the Finals, but we had a great season.”
If the Mavs don’t add a starter in the offseason, the 32-year-old Irving would be the only player in the lineup over 26. Lively won’t turn 21 until February.
Maxi Kleber, a 32-year-old player with seven seasons of NBA experience, is a 30-year-old player who could be in the rotation. Tim Hardaway Jr. is the same age, but he fell out of the rotation late in the season, leaving his role in doubt with a year left on his contract.
“We’re a young team, and so this isn’t a team that, when you look at it … are we going to have to replace some of the older players?” Kidd said. “We have a core, a young core, and so it’s an exciting time to be a Mavs fan and to coach for the Mavs.”
The “old man” — Irving — doesn’t seem like he wants to be replaced by anyone else in Dallas anytime soon.
“When you really love something, you really want to win and it doesn’t happen, how do you react to that?” Irving asked. “I think I can tell you that I’m very confident we’ll be back in the gym soon and ready for next year.”
Reported by Associated Press
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