Dallas Mavericks
1 Bold prediction: Kyrie Irving will opt out of his contract after this season
After making a run to the NBA Finals last year, the natural next step for the team is going to be a championship. However, it's not generally that easy in the NBA. Nevertheless, after acquiring Klay Thompson during the offseason, the Mavs do find themselves in a great position to take the next step forward in their progression. But if they do end up falling short in their pursuits this season, which I believe is a very realistic scenario, I do believe that Kyrie Irving is going to keep his options open.
With the opportunity to test free agency after this season, I predict that Kyrie is going to opt out of the final year of his contract after this year. At 33 years old, this could be Kyrie's last opportunity at a big contract. It would be somewhat foolish for him not to take that into consideration as he decides what to do moving forward. Because of that, I believe Kyrie is going to be open to testing the free-agent market. Does that mean he's leaving Dallas? No. But if he can do this to get a multi-year deal with the Mavs, he will certainly explore this path.
Denver Nuggets
1 Bold prediction: The Denver Nuggets will trade Michael Porter Jr.
I still believe it's quite an overreaction to suggest that the Denver Nuggets' championship window has closed but with the way the recent reporting has gone, it does seem as if there's a shot the front office believes this narrative. And if the front office is already open to it, I do believe there's a good chance of it happening. That's why one of my bold predictions for the Nuggets is that they will trade Michael Porter Jr. at some point during the 2025 calendar year.
If the Nuggets believe they need to retool their core, trading MPJ is probably the way they're going to accomplish that. As the Nuggets look to extend Nikola Jokic's championship window, the lure to trade MPJ is going to be even greater in the coming months. Whether or not they'll pull the trigger ahead of the trade deadline remains to be seen. However, trading MPJ hasn't been as real of a possibility as it currently is at the moment.