Kyrie Irving is doing rehab for his torn left ACL and isn’t expected to play for the 2025-26 NBA season. Amid his recovery, Irving isn’t exempt from trade ideas involving the Dallas Mavericks. On Wednesday, former NBA player Kendrick Perkins mentioned his name as a potential trade asset to help the Mavericks jumpstart their rebuild around rookie forward Cooper Flagg.
The trade rumors involving Anthony Davis sparked the conversation about the Mavericks. Amid the hand injury he suffered against the Utah Jazz on Thursday, there have been talks that he could be dealt ahead of the Feb. 5 deadline.
Perkins entertained the idea of trading both Irving and Davis to help build a young squad around Flagg. He believes that getting draft picks and using them to develop homegrown talent will be beneficial for the former Duke star.
“I’m not just considering trading Anthony Davis, I’m trading the 33-year-old Kyrie Irving too. If you’re talking about rebuilding, then rebuild,” Perkins said on “NBA Today.”
His co-host, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, argued that the Mavericks don’t need to do a full rebuild because they already have the talent in Flagg. Windhorst added that having Kyrie Irving with the young star is a “wonderful thing.” However, the one-time NBA champion insisted that Dallas should trade the veteran star since he and Flagg don’t have the same timeline.
“We want to add those young pieces to grow with him. Irving is 33 years old, I’m trading both him and Anthony Davis. And I’m going to get me some draft picks, some pieces and draft well, add some pieces around Cooper Flagg and I’m looking forward to next year.”
When will Kyrie Irving return from his ACL injury?
Fans are eager to know when Kyrie Irving will suit up for the regular season. The seasoned celebrity has been putting in a lot of effort to recover since his injury 10 months ago. However, the Mavericks haven’t announced a timetable for his potential return.
According to Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal, there has been no indication that Irving won’t play this season. Instead, a potential return to the lineup after the All-Star break could be the ideal case.
“While the Mavericks have not publicly communicated a return timetable for Irving, sources tell Dallas Hoops Journal there has been no indication he will be shut down for the season,” Afseth wrote.
“Instead, the prevailing expectation is that Irving’s return would more realistically come after the NBA All-Star break as it stands, rather than before it.”
Fans are looking forward to seeing how Irving will play next to Flagg for the first time.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
