Mutliple contenders monitoring Kyrie Irving, Mavericks

The Kyrie Irving situation in Dallas suddenly feels a whole lot more interesting.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, multiple contenders around the NBA are closely monitoring what happens next with Irving and the Dallas Mavericks.

And honestly, given everything happening in Dallas lately, that probably shouldn’t surprise anyone.

The Mavericks just fired coach Jason Kidd as new basketball boss Masai Ujiri continues reshaping the organization. Ujiri said this week the franchise needed a “clean slate” and “new direction,” while several front-office changes are already underway behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, Irving remains one of the last major connections to the old Mavericks era under former owner Mark Cuban.

Of course, Irving also is still recovering from the knee injury that ended his 2025 season and sidelined him throughout all of 2025-26. Earlier this year, Dallas officially shut him down for the season entirely, prioritizing long-term health over any rushed return.

At the time, the move made complete sense. The Mavericks wanted Irving fully healthy for the future, particularly alongside franchise centerpiece Cooper Flagg.

Now the question becomes whether that future still fully includes Kyrie.

When healthy, Irving remains one of the NBA’s most gifted offensive players and a proven postseason performer. For contenders searching for another star creator, there’s obvious intrigue.

Especially if Dallas’ ongoing overhaul starts getting even bigger.