Report: Mavericks have no interest in trading Kyrie Irving; Anthony Davis could be a different story
The buzz is growing around the league which… with a new front office in place — Dallas will be active around the NBA trade deadline next February.
Don’t expect Kyrie Irving to be one of the players moved. Anthony Davis, on the other hand…
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On his Howdy Partners podcastESPN’s Tim MacMahon echoed his and others’ previous report that Irving was not on the agenda in trade talks with Dallas. The focus instead is on what the Mavericks could land for Anthony Davis.
“What I would tell you about Kyrie is that the Mavericks don’t want to trade him…
“Trading AD is a real possibility – and I would even say likely – this season. Trading Kyrie is not something that is on the Mavericks’ priority list, or it is simply not something that they are interested in right now.”
Irving, who is still recovering from ACL surgery (but could return later this season), has a reasonable contract ($35.6 million this season, $39.5 million guaranteed next season, followed by a $42.4 million player option for 2027-28), which partly explains the interest in him. However, it would likely take an over-the-top offer from The Godfather for the Mavericks to consider him.
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Davis is a different story.
He should return to the court tonight against the Lakers after missing 14 games with a calf strain. Any serious discussion of a Davis trade has to start with him staying on the court through December and January, putting up big numbers and showing teams that he’s still an All-Star, perhaps an All-NBA level player.
Dallas’ challenge in trading Davis is that there is a very limited market for his services — he’s 32 years old (33 in March) with a history of nagging injuries who makes $54.1 million this season, is guaranteed $58.5 million next season and will seek a contract extension this summer.
Teams have been mentioned in Davis rumors – Chicago, Golden State, New York and Phoenix (although the latter two are highly unlikely) – but even if they are interested, building a trade is virtually impossible. AD’s huge salary and the fact that Dallas is facing the hard cap of the second apron makes it incredibly difficult to put together a trade that works financially and makes sense for both sides. For example, to complete a trade to “win now” and make struggling Golden State work, the Warriors would have to fire either Jimmy Butler (outright) or a trade package built around Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga, and neither of those make much sense for either side.
This isn’t going to stop the Davis rumors. Just know that those regarding Kyrie will not meet this season.
