Kyrie Irving decided to give the Dallas Mavericks a much needed break after a season that has pulled the franchise in every direction. Irving declined his $43 million player option to take a slight pay cut and keep the Mavs under the second apron of the luxury tax and making just under $40 million per year for his new three-year deal.
With it, the Mavs can use their $5.7 midlevel exception as well. ESPN reports that the Mavericks could target players like Chris Paul, Malcolm Brogdon, Dennis Schroder, or D'Angelo Russell with the midlevel exception. It was smart for him to work on a new deal to decline his player option, considering he’ll be missing most of next season, rehabbing a torn ACL he suffered at the end of the season.
Maybe, just maybe, Nico Harrison might be on to something with investing in an aging roster with the No. 1 pick. Irving and Davis are the new core of this team and if they can stay healthy, this is proof maybe they see something in Irving none of his other teams did.
That said, the Mavs absolutely overpaid for Irving. I know they did it so he would keep the team from being a second apron team, but truthfully Irving’s age and injury history suggest paying him $119 million over three years just isn’t a team-friendly deal and not something they should have done. But, again, this is the position they put themselves in when they dealt Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Dallas Mavericks have their core with the No. 1 pick, Nico Harrison’s legacy will be on the line because of it
Harrison’s legacy will hinge on whether he can take an aging core of Irving and Davis and compete for an NBA Finals. They are most likely drafting Cooper Flagg. In one day, the Mavs can go from being a joke of the league to a team that could threaten to go on a playoff run. The Western conference is loaded.
The Mavs probably won’t be able to compete with the best in the West next season as Irving will be out through at least the 2025 calendar year with a January return likely but not guaranteed. Dallas has a long way to go before being considered one of the top teams in the conference again.
First they’ll need to draft Flagg and then focus on building around Irving, Davis and Flagg to make sure they have younger pieces to fill in when Irving or Davis inevitably miss time to injury. I don’t have the confidence in Harrison to get this team competitive again.
He’s making better moves, but still has a ways to go. His legacy is on the line. Everything he does will determine if he can get the Mavs out of the hole he put them in or if the franchise is going to get buried.
Contract grade: C+