Dallas Mavericks Will Wait On Possible Kyrie Irving Extension

After trading for All-Star guard Kyrie Irving on Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks are prepared to wait and see how this season plays out before extending their new addition’s contract.

Kyrie Irving being on the move ahead of this year’s trade deadline was not something many anticipated at the start of the 2022-23 NBA season, but his time with the Brooklyn Nets coming to an end was something that had been written on the wall for quite a while.

Just one thing after another led to the divorce between Brooklyn and Irving, which has now led to Irving becoming a member of the Dallas Mavericks alongside superstar Luka Doncic.

This trade has brought opportunities to both the Mavericks and Nets, but the future of the Mavericks certainly revolves around what happens this season.

By moving both Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith for Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks have signaled to the rest of the NBA that they are “all-in” on competing for a championship this season and they may not be done making moves just yet.

What they decide to do ahead of the trade deadline after trading for Irving is unknown at this time, but Dallas is in a position to make more moves.

Looking ahead though, their future appears to include Kyrie Irving, as they most likely would not have made this move unless they intended on keeping him long-term, but Irving is in the final year of his contract.

Dallas has the opportunity to offer him a two-year, near $80 million extension ahead of becoming a free agent this summer, but it does not appear as if the Mavericks are in a rush to agree to a new extension with Irving.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Irving has not been promised a new contract by the Mavericks and they are wanting to see how the rest of this season goes with both Doncic and Irving on the floor together before making a long-term commitment to him.

After all, Kyrie Irving missed 135 total games since he joined the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the start of the 2019-20 season, so the Mavs proceeding with caution in regards to a possible extension is reasonable.

Nobody really expects this move to be a “rental” by the Mavericks with Irving set to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, but by not extending him right now, they will have the option of offering him a full four-year max contract in the offseason, as well as potentially moving on if something was to transpire internally.

Waiting on giving Kyrie Irivng a new contract is definitely something that gives the Dallas Mavericks leverage at this point and moving forward, we should not really read much into this.

The Mavericks are preparing to possibly make more moves ahead of the trade deadline and their focus is on winning games right away this season.

Anything else can wait and will wait until the offseason by the looks of things. 

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