This was expected. After the Luka Doncic trade, Dallas was going to go all-in on the Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis pairing, and neither Irving’s ACL tear nor winning the Draft Lottery and the rights to select Cooper Flagg would change that.
Irving is going to opt out of his $43.9 million contract for next season and will re-sign with the Mavericks for three years, $119 million, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. The final year of the deal is a player option. It’s a contract very similar to the one he signed three years ago in Brooklyn.
Irving’s salary next season will be less than what he opted out of, enough to move the Mavericks below the second tax apron. It can open up the use of the $5.7 taxpayer’s midlevel exception this summer.
Irving’s extension likely would have been for more if he had not torn his ACL last season, an injury expected to keep him out for most, if not all, of next season (Dallas is optimistic he will return next season). Whether he returns or not, this injury does not alter the Mavericks’ commitment to the path they are on for the next few years.
Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game last season. Once healthy, Irving could be paired in a starting lineup with Klay Thompson at the two, Flagg and Davis as the forwards, and Dereck Lively II at center — a quality starting five that could make noise in the West if everything clicks. Flagg gives Dallas a bridge to the future in a few years, after the Irving and Davis era runs its course.
In the short term, the Mavericks are looking at Dennis Schroder, Chris Paul, D’Angelo Russell and other short-term fill-ins at the point while Irving heals.
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