Mavericks are flirting with a Kyrie Irving trade trap they can't survive

Since firing Nico Harrison, the Dallas Mavericks and their fans have been desperately searching for answers and a direction to head in, with still plenty of the regular season to go. After Friday night's loss to the LA Clippers, the Mavericks have now fallen to 3-10 on the young season. Despite the slow start, it still may be way too early to officially blow up the roster like many recent rumors have hinted could happen.

There's no doubt that all options are on the table when it comes to trades and trying to shape the future of this franchise around Cooper Flagg. Still, the Mavericks must do everything possible to avoid trading Kyrie Irving, no matter how tempting the return package may be. It may be easy to say the Mavericks should punt on this season and trade some of their most valuable veteran assets to build with draft capital and young talent around Flagg, but Irving offers so much more than a few potential first-round picks in Dallas' future.

It's already been shown time and time again that Irving's leadership is so much more than what he could provide for you in a trade or even what he brings on the floor. Having a veteran who knows how to lay the groundwork for a future star in Flagg should almost be seen as being more valuable than a couple of future draft picks that the team may get in a potential return trade for Irving and others.

Kyrie Irving's leadership is too valuable for Dallas to lose

Blowing up the ship and focusing on the future may sound appetizing to plenty of fans, but it's hard to build a culture of winning and hard work without the presence of a veteran in the locker room. While the Mavericks' roster isn't the youngest in the league by a long shot, their main goal, over the next few years, assuming they do decide to blow up their roster, would be to get as young as possible; however, the team still must do everything they can to keep Irving on the roster.

Not only does Irving's on-court product extend way more than his innate abilities to dribble the ball and score a basketball, but almost more importantly, it is his off-court leadership. Having a player who not only understands what it takes to be great on the court but is just as valuable off the court is hard to find, which is exactly why the Mavericks can't afford to trade him.

Irving, along with other Mavericks such as Anthony Davis, may demand a strong trade market, but regardless of the antics, Irving's value is so much more than the phone calls the Mavericks will house when they decide to finally build around Flagg. With Flagg being so young and destined for greatness, the Mavericks must do everything in their power to surround him with players who know what it takes to be great and also win a championship throughout the grueling NBA season.

As of right now, Irving is still expected to return from his torn ACL that he suffered in early March of last season at some point in this regular season. The Mavericks not only desperately need a primary creator of Irving's skills to even have a hope of gaining some of their season back, but witnessing Irving and Flagg share the floor should be one of the Mavericks' biggest priorities.