There is mounting evidence that it may not be in the best interest of the Dallas Mavericks to give Kyrie Irving a max contract extension.
With the way the Dallas Mavericks have operated in recent months, it's almost impossible to predict what may lie ahead for the franchise. However, heading into the offseason, there's one big decision the team will have to make - it revolves around Kyrie Irving, who has a player option for next season. If he wanted, Kyrie could test free agency. However, at lest for now, the plan is for the Mavs to do what it takes to avoid that from happening.
There have been rumblings that the plan in Dallas is for Kyrie to sign a long-term deal. Even though the injury may complicate some of those negotiations, it's hard to imagine that changing much with the praise that Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison gave Kyrie after the injury. However, I do believe that would end up being a huge mistake for the franchise.
As the NBA offseason quickly approaches for the Mavericks, we explore three reasons why Dallas should hesitate to offer Kyrie a max extension this summer.
The uncertainty of the team's future
If there's one thing that has become clear for the Mavs so far this season, it's the fact that nothing is 100 percent certain for the team. If the Mavs were comfortable in their decision to trade Luka, nothing is completely off the table as a possibility for this franchise heading into the future. There's not even a guarantee that AD will be on the roster at the start of next season.
With as much uncertainty that revolves around the Mavs' future, I'm not sure how smart it would be to give Kyrie the maximum extension that he's probably in line for. While the argument can be made that he very much deserves it, I'm not sure how prudent of a move that would end up being for the Mavs. If there's no clarity about how this team is going to operate moving forward, it will not do the team any favors to lock themselves up with a 33-year-old star guard coming off a significant knee injury.
Unless something drastically changes in the front office between now and the start of the offseason, it's hard to imagine how anything is going to become that much clearer for the organization. If that is the case, signing Kyrie to a long-term extension shouldn't be a priority this offseason.
This could be the perfect time for a rebuild
A lot of how the Mavs are going to operate - or at least how they intend to - heading into the offseason revolves around what the plan is going to be post-Luka. What was that trade truly about? As much as the Mavs may want to sell this trade with the idea that they wanted to create a much more well-rounded team, it's hard to buy that. If that was the intention, at the very least, it was bad execution from the franchise.
In many ways, this could be the perfect opportunity for the Mavs to pivot to a rebuilding of their roster. The more I think about the trade of Luka, the more I'm sold that this was what the move was more about. And that's fine if that is the case. The Mavs just need to admit it. Continuing to hide the team's true intentions is only going to force the franchise into a bigger hole than they currently find themselves in.
Signing Kyrie to a huge deal would punt the idea of a rebuild further down the line for Dallas. If that's something the front office believes they need to pursue, I see no reason why they shouldn't begin that process this summer. That's why signing Kyrie to a long-term extension could be viewed as something that would work against the idea of a rebuild.
Kyrie's regression is already beginning to set in
Another argument against signing Kyrie to a long-term extension is the mere fact that there's some regression already taking place in his game. And who knows how much that is going to be expedited after recovering from a significant knee injury. Giving Kyrie a 3-year deal would take him to his age-36 season. Do the Mavs want to be paying a 36-year-old undersized guard max money a few years down the road?
On top of his play on the court taking a bit of a dip in recent years, Kyrie also hasn't played 60 regular season in a year since 2018-19, when he was with the Boston Celtics. Between the durability issues and his projected on-the-court regression, the evidence against paying Kyrie is pretty strong - especially when it comes to paying Kyrie when it isn't necessary.
Losing Kyrie would hurt the Mavs. But, at the same time, it's not like Dallas would be punting on a contender here. Is there a world out there where a duo of Kyrie and AD leads the Mavs on a deep playoff run at some point in the next few years? Sure. However, the percentage of that actually playing out that way is slim. Kyrie is probably going to miss the majority of next season, AD will be another year old, and who knows what this supporting cast is going to look like in a couple of years.