NBA Rumors: The Dallas Mavericks are not going to sit around until Kyrie Irving is healthy; they're going to enter the market to look for his replacement.
If there's anything we've learned by how the Dallas Mavericks' front office has operated of late, it's that they're not going to sit on their hands. They're going to be aggressive, and they're going to operate based on their own rules. We saw that with the bold trade in which they traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis and a future pick at this past year's NBA Trade Deadline.
To think that's suddenly going to change heading into this offseason, just because of some backlash that they received, would be quite foolish. That's why it shouldn't be all that surprising that it's now being reported that the Mavs intend on scouring the free agency and trade market to look for a starting point guard to replace Kyrie Irving, who is expected to miss a good portion of the start of the year due to a knee injury. This is not a long-term solution the team is looking for, just a player who can be somewhat of a stopgap until Kyrie is able to fully return from injury.
The Dallas Mavericks have a great opportunity this season
After missing the NBA postseason entirely this past season, the Mavs have a great opportunity to bounce back in a big way next year. Winning the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Mavs will be able to add one of the best draft prospects in recent history. With an already strong core of Kyrie and AD, and a pretty solid supporting cast that includes P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively II, Klay Thompson, and Naji Marshall, if the Mavs can find a stopgap at the lead guard position, it could make all the difference.
If the Mavs remain "in the hunt" while Kyrie is out, Dallas could emerge as one of those dark horse threats down the stretch. In theory, a core of Kyrie, AD, Cooper Flagg, Washington, Lively, Thompson, Marshall, and whoever else the Mavs are able to add in free agency or via trade this offseason, should be good enough to make some noise in the Western Conference. I wouldn't go all the way to say this team could win the West, but they'd certainly be a team no one would want to face.
Finding the right stopgap at the point guard position should be one of the bigger priorities for the Mavs heading into the offseason. It was easy to poke fun at Dallas during the second half of the season, but this is a roster that has the talent to quickly resurrect itself after a disappointing campaign. And, at least for now, it seems as if the front office agrees.