Masai Ujiri just ended the glaring Kyrie Irving doubt every Mavericks fan had

The Dallas Mavericks and governor Patrick Dumont formally introduced new team president and alternate governor Masai Ujiri on Tuesday afternoon. Besides Jason Kidd's position as head coach not being 100 percent safe anymore, the other biggest takeaway from the presser was how Ujiri viewed Kyrie Irving on Dallas' roster, as he spoke of Irving glowingly, making it clear it's unlikely Dallas shops the 34-year-old star this summer.

Coming off a torn ACL in March of 2025, it was unclear how a new GM would view Irving's standing on the roster, given that Cooper Flagg is the clear future of the Mavericks, but Ujiri spoke excitedly of Flagg and Irving finally getting the opportunity to play together. He mentioned how Irving loves to play off-ball, and how he's one of the best ball handlers of all-time, as well as someone who brings championship experience to a young Dallas roster.

There definitely weren't any hardcore rumors suggesting the Mavericks were going to shop Irving in the trade market at any point following his injury, but the possibility of this was definitely floated in the air by fans online over the past year and change.

Masai Ujiri left zero doubts about Kyrie Irving's future in Dallas

Even media members wondered if Dallas would want to keep Irving following the Anthony Davis trade, as the team finished with an abysmal 26-56 record this past season. However, if there's one thing that Ujiri made clear in his opening presser, it's that he values winning and wants to bring a winning culture back to Dallas, and trading Irving would go against this notion.

Dallas is undoubtedly building for the future around Flagg, but without having control of their future first-round draft capital until 2031 besides this upcoming draft, there's no point in continuing to tank in lieu of trying to continue to hit home runs in the draft lottery. There's no doubt Ujiri will evaluate trading some of Dallas' veterans, but Irving was still extremely productive in his age-32 season, and has gotten more time to recover from his ACL tear compared to most NBA players.

His craftiness and basketball IQ is off the charts, and he's still athletic and quick enough to contribute to winning at a high level, unless he just looks drastically different next season. Knowing Irving, he's been extremely hungry to return to the court, and he won't have to carry as heavy a burden from a shot creation standpoint given Flagg's ascension compared to his month in Dallas following the Luka Doncic trade.

Irving can help push Dallas back to the playoffs alongside Flagg

Perhaps things could change down the line in Ujiri's mind, but it's clear he sees Irving as the best possible bet at point guard for the Mavericks next season. Adding Irving back into the lineup, as well as the right mix of free agents and draft picks, could push the Mavericks back into the playoff race next season.

Trading someone like Klay Thompson or P.J. Washington could definitely be in the cards for the Mavericks this summer or next season, but given Ujiri's stance on Irving, it's clear he sees this Mavericks team being in a position to do more of a re-tool, compared to a full-scale rebuild.

As bad as Dallas was last season, they still have a decent chunk of talent on the roster, and injuries played a heavy factor in their lack of success once again, so it's great to hear Ujiri doesn't think Irving needs to be shipped away, as he still has some elite basketball left in the tank.

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