Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Kyrie Irving’s fit next to Cooper Flagg and their conflicting timelines proved to be lingering topics of discussion throughout the Dallas Mavericks’ offseason.
The storyline caused some to wonder if rival teams would consider trading for the 9-time All-Star to maximize his competitive window, or if Irving desired a new change of scenery amid the influx of change within the organization.
Irving, with a basketball resting in his lap, was asked after Saturday’s training camp practice why Dallas is the place he wants to continue his career and he offered an elaborate answer that reaffirmed his commitment to the franchise.
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“There’s a lot of guys that just wanna come in here and do the right thing and I think I’m right on board with that,” Irving said. “I’m in love with this place just because of how welcoming it was, not just from the franchise aspect but also the fans. A lot of support around the city. And I just feel confident that whatever we put on the floor this year, we’ll do the best of our ability and we’re building something.”
The current landscape in Dallas is quite different from the one Irving joined when he was acquired in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets in 2023. His former co-star Luka Doncic is no longer with the franchise. The Anthony Davis experiment lasted just 367 days and the duo played just three quarters together as teammates. His longstanding relationships with Nico Harrison, Jason Kidd and God Shammgod offered a blanket of conformability, but that trio has departed as well.
Irving is surrounded by a new cast of characters with a budding superstar in Flagg, a new front office team led by Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz, and a new head coach in Dusty May. Ujiri said during his media day availability that his preexisting relationship with Irving made the new partnership “a little bit easier,” but the constant cycle of change could be enough for any player to consider finding a new destination. Klay Thompson, who agreed to a buyout with the Mavericks this summer, is a prime example, given his two seasons coincided with two of the most tumultuous years in franchise history.
Irving enters this season on the second year of the three-year, $119 million contract extension he signed last summer. He owns a player option for the 2027-28 season and could opt out and become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but that option exists only if he’s not traded before February’s deadline.
Irving didn’t give a direct response when asked if he wants to finish his career as a Maverick, but intimated a decision of that nature would be a collaborative effort with the front office and coaching staff.
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“I feel like I’m going to be asked that question a few times throughout the year,” Irving said. “I wish a lot of that was under my control, but I think it’s a collaborative effort here and I’m mature enough to understand that the experience I have in the league, I can use that as just talking points and conversation points when I’m talking to Masai and when I’m talking to Mike and coaching staff.”
Ujiri has been intrigued with Irving’s fit next to Flagg as a duo since his hiring as team president and alternate governor. He reiterated his desire to see them on the court on Friday.
“Even this morning, taking pictures, [Irving’s] spirit is incredible and I’m proud to have a guy like that with that kind of talent on our team,” Ujiri said. “And I said it when I took the job here, the uniqueness of seeing what Kyrie, Cooper, that combination can do with all the players we have, with Dusty, I’m curious to see what that looks like.”
There’s a 15-year age gap between the 34-year-old Irving and Flagg, who doesn’t turn 20 until late December. Irving said he doesn’t mind the conversation around their timelines, but his focus is to continue to develop chemistry with his teammates. Dallas would benefit from a return to All-Star form from Irving, who averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals before he suffered a torn left ACL in March 2025.
Does his left knee feel physically different after the fourth surgery on that leg? The answer was simple. Yes.
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“Any time you go into that surgical room, you’re not going to come out the same,” Irving said. “Most of the time everybody just assumes that we’re tough. We can handle everything. When I say something like it’s my fourth knee surgery, no one bats a real eye unless they’ve been through something traumatic like that.”
The first test to see if Irving moves differently than he once will be next month, when the Mavericks play a pair of preseason games against the Houston Rockets in Macao on Oct. 9 and 11.
The Mavericks are just scratching the surface as a group following Saturday’s first practice of training camp and are far from a finished product. Even Irving admitted that he’s not sure how the team will look once the games begin in Macao next month, but he appears ready to propel forward with the new iteration of the team he’s become the unquestioned leader of.
“We’re turning the page and looking forward to building something new, rallying around each other, rallying around me,” he said. “They lean on me for leadership. I lean on them for energy and vice versa. We just kind of put the past where it was and reminisce when it’s time to do so. To make sense of it moving forward is just to have that championship mindset that whatever we face, we can deal with.”
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