NBA trade proposal sends Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving to Timberwolves

File this under: This is the NBA, so you never know… but don’t start printing jerseys just yet.

A hypothetical three-team deal floated by Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz has Kyrie Irving on the move again. This time to Minnesota. Yes, really.

The framework goes like this:

• The Timberwolves land Irving and Brook Lopez.
• The Clippers get Rudy Gobert.
• And the Mavericks walk away with Derrick Jones Jr., Bogdan Bogdanovic, a developmental big in Joan Beringer and a future first-round pick.

Not exactly a small idea.

Let’s start in Minnesota, where pairing Irving with Anthony Edwards feels like something straight out of a video game. Add Julius Randle and suddenly you’re talking about buckets. Lots of them. Defense? Eh, we’ll figure that out later.

The Clippers swapping in Gobert next to Kawhi Leonard is… interesting. Very Clippers. Win-now, defense-first, hope it all holds together. (This, of course, is assmuming Leonard is even still in LA next season.)

Then there’s Dallas. This is where it gets real.

The Mavs have insisted Cooper Flagg needs a high-level guard to grow alongside. That’s been the thinking with Kyrie. But Flagg just went out and put up 21 a night as a rookie and looked just fine doing it.

So now the question becomes simple. Do you keep the star, or flip him for flexibility?

Irving is 34, coming off an ACL tear, still wildly productive when healthy and still one of the most gifted guards the league has ever seen. But timelines matter. Dallas isn’t exactly knocking on the Finals door right now.

Meanwhile, Minnesota very much is.

That’s what makes this at least worth a conversation. The Wolves get a closer. The Clippers get tougher. The Mavs get younger and add assets.

Does it happen? Yeah, probably not.

But if nothing else, it’s the kind of idea that makes you think. And that’s what the NBA offseason is all about.