Kyrie Irving's injury update gives Mavericks a clear reason not to trade him

Kyrie Irving just dropped an encouraging injury update in terms of his recovery from a torn ACL suffered in March of 2025, and this alone should be enough of a reason for the Dallas Mavericks and their new management to veer away from trading him, at least for the time being. Irving took to a recent Twitch stream to share his status, and based on his anecdote, the 34-year-old guard may even be passing 100 percent in his own mind.

"I am definitely close to being over at 100% in terms of my ACL recovery," Irving said. "It’s been a while now…I’m so grateful that I’ve had the time to heal & just experiment with my body more on the court and off the court in the weight room & just pushing myself to the limit."

Mavericks shouldn't trade Irving now that he's 100 percent healthy

Irving is a relentless worker, and despite tearing his ACL right after the Luka Doncic trade, he and the Mavericks never gave up on each other, evidenced by the three-year $118 million deal he signed with Dallas in the summer of 2025.

New team president Masai Ujiri has already praised Irving multiple times in pressers as well, making it clear he is intrigued to see him alongside Cooper Flagg and company before giving up on him. He even went as far as to quote Kevin Durant in regard to Irving, essentially saying Irving is a one-of-one talent, and he probably wouldn't be saying this if he planned on trading him this summer.

With Dallas having Flagg, they could obviously try to build this thing from the ground up with young talent, but the new anti-tanking rules don't provide support for this case, as well as the fact that they don't control any of their future first-round picks until 2031 outside of this upcoming draft. Health forbidding, the Mavericks have the makings of a playoff roster next season with Irving back in the lineup and a second-year Flagg, and they can't take this opportunity for granted.

It will be great to see Kyrie back in the mix next season at full strength

Irving undoubtedly still has some juice in the tank, especially if he's fully healthy, as his game has aged well given his craftiness and three-level shooting ability. Flagg will take a huge workload off his back next season, and whoever Dallas drafts at No. 9 could aid in this department as well, especially if Dallas selects a guard.

Should Irving start showing serious signs of regression next season, or if Dallas isn't a playoff squad, perhaps the conversation around trying to ship him to a contender could start then. However, he's been a steward of the community in Dallas and is beloved by fans for his playstyle and personality, so this simply isn't the direction the Mavericks should be going in quite yet, especially given this new health update.

It's great to see Irving in better spirits following this long journey of recovery, and him turning the corner to being at or over 100 percent definitely justifies Dallas' decision to hold him out for the entirety of the 2025-26 season.

While Irving may have been healthy enough to suit up toward the end of the season, most NBA players don't feel like they get completely back into form till 12-15 months following an ACL tear, so it was crucial he got this extra time off, given his age and Dallas' record last season.

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