The Flagg Era Has No Room for Irving: Mavs Plan to Trade Him Before February

Kyrie Irving returns to the court after 18 months, and he does so in an uncomfortable position: playing for others. According to information from Sean Deveney reported by Eurohoops, the Dallas Mavericks plan to trade him before the February trade deadline if he demonstrates on the court that he can perform at a level close to what he had before his injury.

A full year without playing

The starting point shapes everything. Irving did not play a single game in the 2025-26 season. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on March 3, 2025, underwent surgery that same month, and in February 2026 the franchise officially announced he would not return to play that season, the first complete season he had missed in fifteen years of his career.

His last NBA numbers, therefore, are from 2024-25: 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, All-Star-caliber numbers that explain why half the market inquired about him this summer.

Why he doesn't fit in Dallas

The franchise rejected all trade offers during the summer, and at first glance it seemed like a commitment to keeping him. The deeper reading would be different.

The problem is not about performance but about timeline. Cooper Flagg, the number one pick in the 2025 Draft and last season's Rookie of the Year, is 19 years old and is the franchise's entire project. Keeping a 34-year-old veteran with a high salary on the roster doesn't align with the idea of surrounding Flagg with young, promising future players. Irving remains a productive player, but productive on a timeline that Dallas no longer needs.

Hence the strategy: let him play, verify that his knee responds well, and trade him when his market value is restored. In sporting terms it makes sense. In human terms, it's peculiar for a player who has spent eighteen months rehabilitating and who during that time served as a mentor to Flagg himself.

The contract detail that complicates it

There is a factor the operation will have to navigate. Irving signed a three-year, $118.5 million extension fully guaranteed, with a $39.5 million salary this season and approximately $42.4 million the next. The agreement includes a player option for 2027-28 and a fifteen percent bonus in case of a trade.

That bonus makes any deal more expensive and reduces the number of teams capable of absorbing it, especially under apron restrictions. That's why this type of move is usually delayed until the final moments of the trade market, when rosters are already set and teams emerge willing to bet on a playoff reinforcement.