Jason Kidd just threw Mavericks fans a lifeline in their worst moment yet

It hasn't exactly been a picture-perfect start to the season for the Dallas Mavericks. But although a 2-4 record through the first 12 days of the season leaves something to be desired, Jason Kidd recently gave Mavs fans hope with his assessment of what's to come when Kyrie Irving is back and sharing the floor with Cooper Flagg. 

Over the weekend in Mexico City, Kidd offered some insight into when we might see Irving return to the hardwood, and what kind of effect that might have on Dallas' star rookie. 

"[Irving] is going to be a perfect fit with Cooper Flagg, when you talk about his skillset of being able to dribble and score,” Kidd said. “He also creates space on the floor for Cooper, and vice versa. We just can’t wait to get Kai back, at some point. Hopefully it’s in the year of ’25 — not ’26. We’ll see what happens, but I think those two will be a perfect match in the backcourt."

Jason Kidd strongly believes in the Cooper Flagg-Kyrie Irving pairing

First of all, when talking about Kyrie's injury, it's a very good sign that Kidd's words here line up very well with the previous injury timeline the team had been looking at for Irving. It was back in the first week of March of this year when Kyrie suffered his ACL injury, and that type of ailment typically takes around nine months to a year for an NBA athlete to fully heal from. Kidd saying he hopes to see Irving back before the start of the new year means that Irving appears to still be right on schedule in his recovery process. 

That's good news in and of itself. But then on top of that, it should also serve as a reassurance that Kidd and the coaching staff have not only a vision but also a strong belief when it comes to the pairing of Flagg and Irving. 

I would agree strongly with Kidd's assessment as well. I think what we have seen to begin this season is Cooper being put in not as favorable a position as he would be with Kyrie next to him. D'Angelo Russell's play has been up and down, but Irving is a much more consistent and high level table setter that will serve to hasten Flagg's development and impact. 

So although it's been a slow start to 2025-26, Kidd's words serve to remind us that there is very much a light at the end of the tunnel coming in the near future. The Mavericks have the personnel to win a lot of games this season, and the Cooper Flagg-Kyrie Irving pairing still has a lot of potential.