New Mavericks boss Masai Ujiri has never been afraid to shake things up. We have already seen it in Dallas, as he dismissed Jason Kidd as head coach less than three weeks after taking the job. Ujiri shipped Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks in 2011 when he was in charge of the Nuggets, and his first big move as general manager of the Raptors was to trade away Rudy Gay’s massive contract. In other words, he’s a guy who likes to start with a clean slate.
ESPN’s Shams Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on May 20 that the Mavericks organization is going through a “complete restart.” Charania also said during the appearance that there are “multiple contenders around the NBA that are monitoring what Kyrie Irving’s future is right now with the Mavericks.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves are the most likely team to trade for Irving’s services, at the moment. Brandon “Scoops B” Robinson reported earlier this month that Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is “advocating heavily” for the Minnesota front office to target Irving this summer.
“Ant has a mutual respect for Kyrie and for what he’s done in this league,” a Timberwolves source told Robinson. “If Kyrie came, it would be sweet.”
The Timberwolves do not have much to send Dallas’ way in terms of draft capital. They have just one future first round pick that they are allowed to trade (2033).
There has been recent buzz that teams like the Raptors and Celtics could be interested in targeting Wolves big man Rudy Gobert this summer, so perhaps a three-team deal in which the Mavs wind up with multiple draft picks is possible.
Other teams that could be interested
The Pistons look to be a great landing spot for Irving. Detroit is in need of a guard to complement Cade Cunningham, and Irving’s strengths are a perfect match. Irving can still score at an elite level, as he averaged 24.7 points per game in 2024-25.
Irving has seemingly matured as he took on a leadership role during his time with the Mavericks. He and Luka Doncic powered the 2023-24 Mavs to an NBA Finals appearance.
Another veteran presence in the locker room could certainly benefit a team like Detroit, which flamed out in the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Cavs.
Speaking of the Cavs, Cleveland president of basketball operations Koby Altman could very well be a mover-and-shaker this off-season. The Cavs seem to be stuck in “good but not great” land, and it’s why they have been the subject of frequent LeBron James reunion rumors of late. If the Cavs land LeBron once again, could Altman then go target Irving for an even bigger reunion?
It’s highly unlikely, but it hasn’t stopped Cavs fans from dreaming.
“I saw a quote from Rich Paul that said LeBron’s best teammate … the best player that LeBron played with in his career was this guy by the name of Kyrie Irving,” said former NFL player and Ohio State Buckeye Tyvis Powell on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show this week. “And then I started thinking about the Dallas Mavericks, and I see that Kyrie Irving is the final Mark Cuban guy on that roster. And it got me thinking, if LeBron James is coming back, we might as well go all in. We’ve mortgaged our future already … I say we continue to mortgage it.”
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