Kyrie Irving may not be going anywhere. That has not stopped the league from trying to figure out where he could end up.
With Cooper Flagg established as the foundation in Dallas and new president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri taking over, multiple contenders are reportedly keeping an eye on Irving’s situation. The Mavericks have said they want to build around Flagg and Kyrie together, but if the price is right, several teams are ready to swoop in.
The list of contenders making sense is long. The list of contenders ready to pull the trigger is shorter.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are at the top of most reports. Minnesota needs a clear second offensive option next to Anthony Edwards, and Irving would immediately become one of the most lethal pieces in the league next to him. If Kyrie is healthy and the Wolves move some salary, they could have one of the scariest backcourts in the West.
The Houston Rockets keep showing up in these conversations too. Houston already has Kevin Durant, and the idea of pairing Irving with Durant for another run is the kind of thing that excites everyone except defensive coordinators. The Rockets have the young talent to make a deal happen if they want to.
The Golden State Warriors are the wild card. Golden State missed the playoffs entirely this year and has signaled they want to make a major splash this offseason. Irving alongside Steph Curry would be one of the most fascinating star pairings in recent memory. The question is whether the Warriors are willing to trade real assets to bring it about.
The Dallas situation is the most important variable. Ujiri has reportedly spoken positively about Irving and wants to give the Cooper Flagg-Kyrie pairing a real chance. Irving himself has been a constant presence at the team facility and has shown no public interest in leaving. The new front office wants stability. The current core makes sense if Kyrie is healthy.
The catch is the recovery timeline. Irving tore his ACL in March 2025 and missed the entire 2025-26 season. He recently said on a Twitch stream that he is “close to being over at 100%” in his recovery. He is targeting the start of training camp in late September for his return. That gives the Mavericks an entire offseason to decide whether to commit to him long-term or move him for assets.
For Dallas, the calculation is complicated. Trading Irving would net them young players and picks that fit better around Flagg’s rookie contract timeline. Keeping Irving means having a top-30 player in the league on the roster, but it also means paying a 33-year-old guard $40-plus million per year on a team that is supposed to be rebuilding.
The smart bet right now is that Dallas keeps Kyrie through training camp and reassesses based on how the season goes. If the Mavericks come out of the gate slowly and Kyrie looks like his old self, they could move him at the deadline for max value. If they look like a real Western Conference team, they keep him and try to contend.
Irving’s trade value depends entirely on his health. A healthy Kyrie at the deadline could net Dallas a top-10 protected first round pick and a young player with starting potential. An injured Kyrie has almost no trade value at all.
The Mavericks have leverage either way. Other teams know it. Kyrie knows it. The next few months are going to define the next decade of Dallas basketball.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
