Report: Mavericks have no interest in trading Kyrie Irving; Anthony Davis may be a different story
Word is growing around the league that… 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…
Announcement
On his podcast Howdy PartnersESPN’s Tim MacMahon echoed his previous report, and that of others, that Irving is off the table in trade talks with Dallas. The focus, instead, is likely on what the Mavericks could get for Anthony Davis.
“What I would like to tell you about Kyrie is that the Mavericks don’t want to trade him…
“Trading AD is a real possibility, and I would say even probable, this season. Trading Kyrie is not something that is on the Mavericks’ priority list, or simply not something they are interested in doing at this time.”
Irving, who is still out 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 is part of the reason for the interest in him. However, it would likely take an over-the-top offer from the Godfather to get the Mavericks to consider him.
Announcement
Davis is a different story.
He will return to the court tonight against the Lakers after missing 14 games with a calf strain. Any serious discussion about 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-caliber player.
Dallas’ challenge in trading Davis is that there is a very limited market for his services: He’s 32 (33 in March) with a history of nagging injuries making $54.1 million this season, has $58.5 million guaranteed next season and will be seeking a contract extension this summer.
Teams have been mentioned in the Davis rumors — Chicago, Golden State, New York and Phoenix (though the latter two are highly unlikely) — but even if they were interested, actually constructing a trade is nearly impossible. AD’s huge salary and the fact that Dallas is right in front of the second apron cap makes it incredibly difficult to actually put together a trade that works financially and makes sense for both sides. For example, to make a “win now” trade and work at struggling Golden State, the Warriors would have to send back Jimmy Butler (upward) or a trade package built around Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga, and neither of those make a lot of sense for either side.
That won’t stop the Davis rumors. Just know that the ones on Kyrie will not unite this season.