Jason Kidd Hints at Kyrie Irving's Return to the Court

The Dallas Mavericks are sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. For a team with high hopes, they haven’t gotten off to the best start to the season. Part of this, of course, is that they are missing a key piece in Kyrie Irving, who continues to rehab from his ACL tear. 

The Mavericks' other star, Anthony Davis, has also missed time with injury. If the Mavericks are going to get things back on track, step one is a healthy Davis. Step two is being in a position to fight for a playoff spot once Irving returns from injury. 

Jason Kidd recently discussed Irving’s timetable for returning to the court. 

“We just can’t wait to get Kai back at some point. Hopefully, it’s in the year ’25, not ’26. But we’ll see what happens.”

Returning towards the end of 2025 would put Irving at around nine months post-surgery. This is a normal timeline for returning, but Irving is 33 years old and has dealt with knee injuries before. The Mavericks shouldn’t rush him back and risk him getting hurt again. 

However, the Mavericks desperately need Irving back. They don’t have a quality starting point guard. They have a strong supporting cast around Davis and Irving, but those players thrive when they have a point guard setting things up for them. Davis himself is much less efficient and dominant without another playmaker on the court to keep the defense honest. 

So, if Kyrie Irving comes back from injury sooner rather than later, the Mavericks could easily get themselves back into the Western Conference mix. If his return from injury is further delayed, the Mavericks could be in trouble.