NBA Rumors: Mavs still plan to re-sign Kyrie Irving who will test free agency

NBA Rumors: Kyrie Irving is set on testing free agency this summer but the Dallas Mavericks still want to re-sign him.

In the final week of the regular season, there’s a growing chance that the Dallas Mavericks will miss the playoffs. The team has struggled mightily over the last few weeks and there are no clear signs of the team turning things around with just a handful of games left in their season. In fact, there are whispers that the Mavs could shut down Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving for the remainder of the year.

If they would do that, the Mavs would be all but forfeiting their shot at making the NBA Play-In Tournament. Either way, this is a big week that could have huge implications for the team’s future heading into the offseason.

One big question that the Mavs will have to answer in the offseason revolves around Kyrie and what the plan is for him moving forward. Dallas did give up some tangible assets for Kyrie at the NBA Trade Deadline so you’d have to imagine that the team would want to retain him. And according to a recent report, that is the plan for now. At the same time, according to the same report, Kyrie wants and intends to test free agency.

Nevertheless, it seems like the Mavs are going to have their hands full this offseason.

Kyrie Irving could have a limited market that would help the Dallas Mavericks

While none of this from this reporting is particularly surprising, what I would be most interested in is finding out what type of market Kyrie may have on the open market. While it’s almost impossible to predict, it is interesting that he wants to keep his options open – even though I’m sure the Mavs made it clear they want to re-sign him.

If both sides wanted, Dallas and Kyrie could’ve agreed to a contract extension as soon as the trade was announced. Instead, Kyrie will enter free agency with the hope of having options. After all, what other reason would Kyrie have to test free agency if it wasn’t to find more options?

You may be thinking, who would want Kyrie? Well, it may not be as simple as we think. On the surface, the assumption is that no one would want Kyrie on their roster. However, I don’t know if that would continue to be the case if, per se, Kyrie decided to not ask for a max contract.

Would his market significantly change if he was willing to take somewhat of a team-friendly deal? If nothing else, it would certainly blur some of the hardlines that perhaps some franchises have drawn against Kyrie. Either way, it should be interesting to watch unfold this offseason. Well, at least for every other team not named the Mavs.