Mark Cuban reveals why shutting down Kyrie Irving was the smartest move for Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks made the hard decision to shut down Kyrie Irving for the rest of the 2025-26 season as he rehabs from a torn ACL, and this move was clearly the right one with all things considered. And Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban agrees.

Dallas is in no position to make a playoff push as they sit at 19-35 and seven games back from the final spot in the Play-In Tournament, and the best decision for both sides was to allow Irving to continue to recover rather than clearing him to play later this season. It hasn't even been a full year since he tore his ACL, and pushing for a championship alongside Cooper Flagg next season is far more important than playing in March and April this year.

"It’s really smart by Kyrie and his team," Cuban told The Smoking Cuban when asked about Irving's shutdown. "The one thing we all know and love about Kai is that when it’s the fourth quarter and the game is marginally close, he will try to take over and win the game."

Mark Cuban explains why Kyrie Irving's shutdown makes sense

The decision for Irving not to play for the rest of the season was collaborative between Irving's camp and the Mavericks, and this was the best way that they could have handled this. Rather than shutting Irving down against his will or pushing for him to come back when he wasn't ready, they worked with him and came to an agreement that it would be best for him not to play this season.

"This decision wasn’t easy, but it’s the right one," Irving said. "I am grateful for the Mavericks organization, my teammates and our fans for their continued support throughout the process. I am looking forward to coming back stronger next season. The belief and drive I have inside only grows."

Irving is obviously eager to return to the hardwood, and he will continue to rehab with the Mavericks for the rest of the season in preparation for a pivotal 2026-27 season. Anyone who has ever watched Irving play knows that he holds himself to the highest standard in terms of being at his best, and relieving himself of the pressure that would've come with returning this season is definitely a blessing.

As Cuban stated, Irving is known for pushing him extremely hard during clutch time, and this is why Mavericks fans have fallen in love with him over the last three years. He is one of the best fourth-quarter players in the NBA, and taking over games and relentlessly exerting himself is not something Dallas needs from him right now.

"For a guy just coming back, and given where our season is, that’s not even remotely smart," Cuban told The Smoking Cuban in regard to Irving taking over games if he were to come back this season. "He puts more pressure on himself than anyone could, which is counterproductive coming back from injury."

The Mavericks need him to remain fully healthy heading into next season, and playing him this season would've put him at risk of suffering another injury. As we saw last season, Irving pushes himself harder than anyone and takes pride in putting his team in the best possible position to win games.

We saw this at the end of last season after the Luka Doncic trade, and him having all of the weight on his shoulders to will Dallas to wins was the last thing that they needed this season.

That's the exact position that Irving was in last season, as he had to do it all on his own with Doncic traded and Anthony Davis injured, and his season ended with him tearing his ACL.

Irving was going to be on a minutes restriction if he did return this season, and with how hard the NBA is cracking down on tanking, these rules would've put him in an awful position that could've resulted in the Mavericks getting fined.

"On top of that, it’s not inconceivable, if we were playing in a game that had standing consequences for the opponent, the NBA could tell us he has to play or they will fine us," Cuban told The Smoking Cuban. "There is zero reason to put him in that position. Let him keep ramping up in practice. Get back to 5 on 5 this summer and be ready to tear it up next season."

With Irving now ruled out from playing at all this season, the Mavericks avoid any risk of him getting re-injured or being forced to play while simultaneously putting the team in the best position possible to draft a co-star for Flagg. Every move that Dallas is making right now is strategic, and Irving not playing this season should pay off in the long run.