The Dallas Mavericks and Kyrie Irving are expected to negotiate an extension this summer, but what if the two parties don’t reach an agreement?
Irving, recovering from a torn ACL, has never been predictable. The possibility remains that Irving could choose to opt into his $44 million player option for 2025-26 and leave it at that, which would surprisingly make Kyrie an intriguing trade chip on an expiring salary.
Irving isn’t expected to return to the floor until January 2026 at the earliest. If a team — perhaps one looking to tank — was willing to take on Kyrie’s expiring deal and shed salary in their own right, a deal could emerge.
Speaking of unpredictability, Dallas GM Nico Harrison can’t be ruled out from making outlandish deals that go against the grain (that's an understatement). Harrison, aggressively tied to the philosophy that defense wins championships, could look to flip Irving for a more defensively-inclined superstar — perhaps one who is in the prime of his career and isn’t injured, setting up a year of contention in 2025-26 with this new star and Anthony Davis running the show.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Enter the Boston Celtics, who have well-documented reasons to shed salary.
The Trade
Celtics receive…
- Kyrie Irving
- Max Christie
Mavericks receive…
- Jaylen Brown
Boston could fix its long-term salary cap problem in one fell swoop by shipping Brown off to Dallas. The Celtics would turn around $60 million of money per year until 2028-29 (Brown’s salary) into Kyrie’s expiring deal and Max Christie’s bargain deal of $25 million over the next three seasons. Christie is a rising star who would thrive with more opportunity in Boston on a roster looking to fill the void of Brown’s absence (and Jayson Tatum’s injury) in 2025-26.
Harrison might see a Kyrie-for-Brown swap as a way to improve defensively while also getting a player in Brown who is more age-appropriate for the AD timeline. While Brown isn’t anywhere close to the creator that Kyrie is, his scoring output from a basic points-per-game standpoint would be capable of replacing Irving’s numbers.
Celtics fans will think this idea is absolutely ridiculous given how Irving’s first tenure went in Boston, but keep in mind, this would just be a one-year situation in which Kyrie might not even step on the floor in a Celtics uniform before being turned into massive cap space in the summer of 2026.
On the other hand, what if Kyrie did play next season, and what if he looked surprisingly effective? Irving still maintains a close relationship with Tatum, and Boston could re-sign Irving to a 1-year “prove it” deal for 2026-27 to coincide with Tatum’s return, setting up a very interesting roster with a Kyrie-Derrick White backcourt supporting Tatum.
And here's a third outcome -- Irving plays for a few months in a Celtics uniform as the first option on a Tatum-less squad, proves he's still Kyrie, and then becomes a valuable trade chip for Boston to turn into further assets in the summer of 2026.
Chances are, this trade won’t be possible due to Irving’s best interests. He has reason to seek an extension with Dallas, especially given his uncertain production upon returning from the ACL injury. And if Irving was miraculously traded to Boston this summer, he’d probably seek a longer deal than one or two years the following summer for similar reasons.
But in a league where Luka Dončić was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the prime of his career, anything can happen.
Boston could fix its cap issue by trading Brown while getting a legit superstar back in Irving and a promising young shooting guard in Christie who would start for many NBA teams.
From Irving’s perspective, returning to Boston and completely changing the narrative of his time there could be a poetic — albeit shocking — way to end his legendary career.
More NBA: NBA writer thinks 76ers could land Celtics All-Star using No. 3 pick