Lakers-Mavs Kyrie Irving Double Sign & Trade: Why Would Dallas Be Interested?
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks' top offseason priority will be to retain Kyrie Irving, who is set to reach free agency this summer. After averaging 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on .494/.379/.905 shooting splits last season, the 31-year-old is eligible to sign a deal worth up to $272.9 million over five years with the Mavs. If he were to depart, he could sign a four-year, $210.1 million contract with another team.
The Mavs parted with Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first-round pick, and multiple second round picks in order to acquire Irving. Having him around for just a few months of a disappointing end to a regular season would set Dallas back considerably as the team aims to build a contender around Luka Doncic. While there is still plenty of team before free agency opens, the front office remains optimistic about their outlook to re-sign Irving.
"I think the things that he said along the way about how he feels here, how he feels appreciated, how he feels accepted and allowed to be himself," Mavs general manager Nico Harrison said of Irving's desire to stay. "I think those are the things that he’s said kind of consistently, and that’s what gives me the optimism that he wants to be here."
While a midseason trade naturally will shift the attention to immediate expectations for the remainder of that given campaign, the Mavs view Irving as a long-term addition, not a rental that was meant to be a quick fix. Now, the focus will be to bolster what proved to be a poor defensive team.
"I didn’t know if this would be like a magic pill. I don’t think I had any visions of that," Harrison said. "But I figured it couldn’t be worse than what it was. I also looked at it as a long-term play, not a short-term play."
Until Irving makes a contract official, there will be no shortage of speculation regarding what he may do next. In a recent trade speculation piece designed to give the Los Angeles Lakers deals to "shake up" the NBA offseason, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report constructed a double sign-and-trade that would swap Irving for D'Angelo Russell with nothing else involved changing hands. Even despite reporting of disinterest, Buckley sees Irving as a "natural target" for the Lakers.
“Kyrie Irving is a natural target for the Lakers even though The Athletic’s Tim Cato reported they’re ‘uninterested’ in pursuing him this offseason,” Buckley wrote. “The Lakers valued Irving enough to offer two future first-round picks (the most they could trade) to the Brooklyn Nets before the mercurial guard was sent to the Mavericks.”
While the Lakers did manage to pull off a run to the Western Conference Finals, Buckley sees there still being room for Los Angeles to bolster its supporting cast around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. With a scorer with efficiency like Irving, perhaps he could take that group to new heights.
“It’s hard to imagine L.A. is fully out on Irving now,” Buckley wrote. “There are nights when this offense just can’t get out of the mud. Catch one of those, and it’s easy to see how much of an impact Irving could make with his shooting, efficient scoring and shot creation.”
In a vacuum, the idea of adding Irving would boost just about any team. However, there is more to consider when the business of basketball is factored into the equation. Firstly, Russell would need to desire to play for the Mavs and Irving would have to want to commit to the Lakers. Additionally, there would need to be considerations made regarding the hard cap for the Lakers as they must retain impending free agents such as Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura this summer.
A significant reason the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Russell was for a lack of desire to pay his desired asking price on his next contract. Russell felt as though anything the Timberwolves could offer, it wouldn't be enough to meet his expectations. He is earning just under $31.4 million in the final year of his four-year, $117.3 million contract.
“I felt [the Timberwolves] couldn’t pay me, so I kind of expected it,” Russell told The Athletic. “I felt like I was gonna outplay my offer, whatever they wanted to offer me, and then I’d be in a position where I’d have to make a decision. And I just kind of held my cards tight and let the basketball gods take over.”
For a sign-and-trade to be facilitated, a free agent involved would need to be signed to a deal no shorter than three years to satisfy the Collective Bargaining Agreement. At the cost the Mavs would need to pay Russell to salary match Irving's projected cost, Dallas would need to be highly intrigued by Russell — arguably more so than any NBA team reasonably would be. Would the Mavs be interested in paying big money to a player averaging 14.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.9 assists on .437/.325/.769 shooting splits in the postseason?
Whatever the Mavs do this offseason as far as roster moves are concerned, they are operating with a small margin for error. Doncic has high expectations not only for himself, but for the team he plays for. Finishing with a 38-44 record in the regular season with the help of a tanking effort to keep a lottery pick is about as far from ideal as it gets. Doncic wants to win championships. Keeping Irving is paramount to that outcome, not swapping him out for a player of Russell's caliber.
"I don’t know what keeping Luka happy here means," Harrison said. "If you win, then I’m assuming he’s going to be happy. If we win and he’s not happy, then I wouldn’t know how to keep him happy. So I think the goal is to win. I’m assuming that works. It will work for me."
As far as roster moves are concerned, the Mavs retained the 10th pick as a result of the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery. They have only a 2027 first-round pick as far as trade eligible future first-round selections are concerned. With plenty of roster holes to address, they will need to work quickly in getting the job done despite being limited in trade assets and being limited by negatively-valued contracts.
Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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