Mavericks have been saying the quiet part about Kyrie Irving all along

As soon as the NBA offseason began a few months ago, Dallas Mavericks fans wondered how they would address their guard issue behind Kyrie Irving, as he will miss significant time with a torn ACL. They had little to no depth behind Irving entering this summer (outside of Jaden Hardy and Brandon Williams), and they decided to address their guard dilemma by signing D'Angelo Russell to a two-year deal and re-signing Dante Exum despite being in trade rumors for several players such as Jrue Holiday, Lonzo Ball, and Collin Sexton.

Dallas stood pat for the most part when looking for guard help this summer, and this says everything about how they feel about Irving amid his recovery.

With the Mavs not trading for another guard to solidify their backcourt, it's clear that they think Irving could return sooner than expected, and a flurry of events over the last few months have proved that.

Mavericks clearly have faith in a timely Kyrie Irving return

Just over a month after Irving's injury, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Dallas is hopeful that Irving will return to the floor by January of 2026. Even though this report seemed premature, considering how soon it came after his injury, it could be a great indicator that Irving truly is going to return quickly.

Charania has been close to Irving's camp for years, and it doesn't seem like he would ever put out something like this unless he had heard optimism from Irving, his camp, or the Mavericks.

During the NBA Summer League, Nico Harrison is also on the record saying that Irving is ahead of schedule on his ACL recovery, and that is great news for Mavs fans who are excited to see him return as soon as possible. Once again, it's likely nearly impossible to tell how close Irving is to returning at this juncture, but he is clearly attacking his rehab and wants to have a full recovery to return to the hardwood better than ever.

Irving has made it clear that he won't rush things, even slightly dodging a question that asked if he would return in time for the 2026 NBA Playoffs, but he, as much as anyone, wants to return 100 percent healthy and be a better version of himself. He is known to take his time with some injuries, which is the right thing to do in almost every scenario, but context clues are saying that he isn't going to miss all of next season. He could even return before the All-Star break, and this would be the best possible scenario for Dallas (assuming he is fully healthy).

If Irving can return with plenty of time to go during the regular season, he should be able to ramp up his minutes to normal, meaning Dallas could be at full strength before the postseason begins. This would be major for the Mavs, as they'd have their big three of Irving, Cooper Flagg, and Anthony Davis ready to roll, and no team in the league would want to play them.

The Mavericks' roster building this summer indicated that they believe that Irving will come back at some point during the regular season, and the 2025-26 season should not be treated as a gap year (as some fans have pushed). Irving will be motivated to help his team as much as he can as soon as he returns, and the Mavs have quietly shown their hand that he is going to make his return sooner rather than later (at the beginning of the 2026-27 season).