Will Kyrie Irving return to the Dallas Mavericks next season? The 32-year-old star guard has a player option for the 2025-26 campaign. Irving can either opt into the contract and make over $43 million, opt out of the contract and sign a new deal with Dallas, or opt out and sign elsewhere. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, Irving has the most “leverage” of any possible free agent for the upcoming offseason.
“It’s Kyrie Irving, he’s got the most leverage out of any potential free agent, including LeBron James, potentially James Harden here,” Marks said on ESPN. “Now Irving’s got a $43 million dollar player option here, he certainly can opt into that contract. But I think when you look at the circumstances here based on how he is playing, he’s playing like an All-Star, certainly All-NBA type candidate… The Luka (Doncic) trade. They cannot afford to lose Kyrie Irving this offseason.”
As Marks mentioned, the fact that Dallas traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers makes keeping Irving on the team even more important. Dallas seemingly wants to build around Kyrie and Anthony Davis, but Irving has leverage (even more than LeBron James according to Marks) and he will surely consider all of his options.
Marks also revealed what he believes is the best option for both Kyrie Irving and the Mavericks.
“When you look at it, what’s the best option for him and the Mavericks? The best option is aligning him with that Anthony Davis contract, that’s three (years) for $175 million dollars after this season.
Davis has two more seasons on his contract following the 2024-25 campaign to go along with a player option for the 2027-28 season. The Mavericks likely want to keep Irving and Davis on the team for the next few years in an effort to win a championship.
Kyrie is a tremendous leader in addition to being a great player. Losing him in free agency during the upcoming offseason would be a nightmare scenario after trading Doncic. The Mavs must find a way to convince Irving to stay in Dallas.
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