Should the Mavericks Trade Kyrie? Reports Indicate They Don't Want To

The Dallas Mavericks might be moving the franchise in a different direction. Last season, they made the puzzling decision to trade Luka Doncic in what they thought was a “win-now” move. Now that everyone can agree that the trade was a complete disaster, rumors are that the Mavericks are going to move towards a rebuilding future around Cooper Flagg. 

The easiest way for the Mavericks to do this is to trade their aging superstars, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. While everyone believes the Mavericks are already starting conversations about potential Davis trades, the noise about Kyrie hasn’t been as loud. 

NBA Insider Ryen Russillo recently confirmed reports that the Mavericks aren’t as interested in trading Kyrie as some may think they should be.  

"The other part of it — and I keep getting told this — is that they say, look, they don’t want to deal Kyrie Irving. They think Cooper Flagg needs to play next to an elite point guard to develop the right way. That’s not D’Angelo Russell. It’s not D’Angelo Russell. It’s just not that guy." "They’ve also looked at an AD trade. Wherever you send Anthony Davis — let’s say you find a deal with Chicago, maybe Atlanta, which I think could be an interesting spot for him — what you’re going to get back, and what you still have left, isn’t enough to do this kind of Washington Wizards–style free fall."

The Mavericks may be just buying time until Kyrie returns. Once they see what it looks like with him and Cooper Flagg on the floor, they can make a better decision about their future plans.