Bleacher Report's Kyrie Irving trade argument misses the Mavericks' bigger picture

Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley published an article titled "1 Overreaction To Every NBA Team's Start" on November 12, arguing that the Dallas Mavericks' overreaction is that "the Kyrie Irving trade chatter needs to stop."

Buckley argues that the Mavericks' short window with Cooper Flagg and Irving should keep the trade speculation going, making a case that Dallas should at least consider the idea of moving Kyrie — regardless of how he has looked alongside Coop so far.

Dallas shouldn't trade Kyrie Irving

While the age difference between Flagg and Irving has been a major talking point for months now, the Mavericks shouldn't mess up what they have going with their new star duo. This piece is missing the bigger picture: the Mavs are ready to compete right now. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Dallas is 7-2 in games that Kyrie and Cooper play together, and the Mavericks have gone from being counted out before the season began to a potential playoff team. They have overperformed compared to preseason expectations, and getting Flagg some playoff experience in his sophomore season would be massive for his development.

If Dallas trades Kyrie, the chance that they make the playoffs would take a significant hit.

They're currently the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and are just 1.5 games behind the Houston Rockets for the No. 3 seed. The West standings are tightly packed, and Irving's early play has helped the Mavs go from one of the laughingstocks of the West last season to an up-and-coming team to keep an eye on.

Irving has transformed the Mavericks' offense

Irving is averaging 22.9 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the field, and he has helped transform Dallas' offense after missing all of last season with a torn ACL. The Mavericks have gone from being the No. 27 offense in the NBA last season to the 12th-ranked unit this season, and Irving's return has been a big reason for this.

His isolation scoring, 3-point shooting, and finishing around the basket have been among his strengths, and the way that he has elevated the team should be enough of a reason that Dallas should hold onto him rather than gauging the trade market ahead of the February 11 trade deadline.

Trading Irving would disrupt Dallas' core

The trade noise will likely continue to flow in, especially if Irving continues to play this well, but this doesn't mean that the Mavericks should listen. Kyrie made it clear to his teammates that they should not allow the trade rumors to enter the locker room due to the negative consequences that come with that, and so far, the biggest stories surrounding the Mavs have focused on who's playing well rather than who's on the trade block.

Dallas has a chance to make a playoff run with Irving and Flagg as their superstars, and not allowing them to play a full season together by trading Kai would be a major mistake. He has been excellent for the Mavs on and off the court since getting traded to the team in 2023, and Buckley's "overreaction" about Irving shouldn't be viewed as an overreaction at all.

It's the truth.

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