Mavericks' hot start is making the Kyrie Irving trade debate look ridiculous

All summer, the biggest talking point surrounding the Dallas Mavericks was whether the team would keep or trade Kyrie Irving. He missed all of the 2025-26 season with a torn ACL, but his proven pedigree as an All-NBA point guard, elite co-star, leader, and knockdown shooter made him someone who any contender would love to have.

Why trading Kyrie Irving once seemed like it made sense

Add in the fact that Kyrie is 15 years older than Dallas' new franchise cornerstone, Cooper Flagg, and the discourse surrounding a potential trade was deafening. There were constant reports that teams around the league would be interested in trading for him if he ever became available, and fans around the league often speculated about what it would take for their team to trade for the nine-time All-Star.

Even Mavs fans debated about what Dallas should do with Irving. On one hand, the Mavericks could get a massive haul if they traded him. With their need for more youth around Flagg, trading Irving for first-round draft capital and a good young player at least makes some sense on paper.

The Mavericks' hot start has changed the optics of this potential move

On the other hand, Dallas is 7-4 after being written off before the season began. The Mavericks have picked up big wins over the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, and Kyrie's play and chemistry with Coop have been among the main driving forces for their success.

With this in mind, the question about trading or keeping Irving has answered itself. The Mavs look like a playoff team through the first three weeks of the season, and they shouldn't mess up their momentum by trading their second-best player.

Irving is a key to Dallas' success on offense

He's averaging 22.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the field, and he has already had multiple massive scoring nights through his first nine appearances. He has two 35-point games in the last two weeks, and his on-ball gravity has helped Dallas' offense look much more composed.

He is one of the only players on the team outside of Flagg who can create his own shot and score in isolation, and he and Flagg's play down the final stretch of games has helped them win 75 percent of their clutch games (3-1 record) after winning 37.8 percent of these games (17-28 record) last season.

The Mavericks should keep Kyrie for Cooper Flagg's sake

The guidance and leadership that Irving provides for Flagg and the rest of the team is invaluable, and a potential trip to the playoffs alongside Coop is more valuable than the return they could get for him in a trade. Flagg already looks like one of the best players in the NBA as a teenager, and he and Irving could lead Dallas on a deep postseason run together.

They already look like one of the best duos in the Western Conference after playing just nine games together, and their success has come without many of Dallas' key pieces.

Dallas is doing all of this with several key players sidelined

Santi Aldama, the team's biggest offseason trade acquisition, has only played three games after missing the start of the season as he recovers from knee surgery, while Dereck Lively II hasn't played yet.

Sergio De Larrea has also been out with a knee injury since the end of October, and Tarik Biberovic, one of the best shooters in Europe last year, hasn't made his NBA debut as he deals with right heel bursitis. The Mavericks look dangerous when not fully healthy, and it would be nonsensical to blow the team up before seeing how they look once at full strength.

Irving's stance on the Mavs makes their case to keep him even stronger

Additionally, Kyrie has made it clear that he wants to remain in Dallas. He understands that basketball is a business, and he heard all the offseason doubts, but he and the team decided early on that they weren't going to let the outside noise invade their locker room. Trade rumors within the locker room create toxicity and uncertainty, and Irving has left all of the trade talk in the past.

The Mavs are playing far too well to move on from Irving, and the trade debate has been pushed to the side for the time being. Discourse surrounding the team has shifted from what they should do with Kyrie to who they should bring in to play alongside him and Flagg, and Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz should look to keep Irving in Dallas for as long as he pleases.

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