Mavericks' risky Kyrie Irving decision could quietly change everything

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving has been out for the entirety of the 2025-26 season after tearing his ACL last March, and fans now have a good idea of what the team plans to do in terms of bringing him back at some point this season.

NBA insider Marc Stein dropped some intel on Monday evening, and his return is definitely looking like a major possibility (subscription required) this season.

According to Stein, "the decision (to bring Irving back) will be a collaborative one…with Irving given a strong say on his preference to either give himself more time to recover from the surgery or test himself in a few games this spring."

Kyrie Irving will help decide if he returns or not this season

Irving has been on track to be medically cleared at some point after the All-Star break for months now, and his health has continued to trend in the right direction for the whole season. He has worked tirelessly to get back on the court since his injury, and Dallas' plan regarding how they want to handle this is now clear.

A strong case can be made that the Mavericks need to tank for the remainder of the season in order to improve their odds of securing a favorable lottery pick, and shutting down Irving would help them do this. Dallas is 19-35 on the season, and they are seven games back from the Play-In Tournament. The playoffs are a long shot, and their focus should already be focused on next season to build a contender around Cooper Flagg.

The Mavericks believe in the firepower that Flagg and Irving can put forth together as a tandem, but this all depends on whether they are both healthy for the start of next season. The 2026-27 season will be the first year that Dallas is all-in on building around Flagg, and the conclusion to sit Irving or bring him back this season could quietly affect this.

His presence alone will help them win more games down the final stretch, but as Stein reported, this decision won't be up to just the Mavericks.

Irving will be involved in this decision-making process, and if he wants to come back, he will.

He deserves to have some say here, especially considering how hard he has worked over the last 11 months, but this plan comes with some risks.

Irving hasn't played in nearly a year, and bringing him back for meaningless basketball at the end of the season won't just hurt Dallas' lottery odds; it could also increase the odds of him getting reinjured. He hasn't played more than 60 games since the 2018-19 season, and injuries haven't been his friend over the last few seasons.

Irving has made it evident that he's only going to return once he is 110 percent healthy, and both sides will definitely be cautious as they approach this crossroads. He still has two years remaining on the three-year, $118.5 million deal he signed with Dallas last offseason, and the final two years of his contract are far more important than him playing a handful of games this season.

Regardless of the risk that comes with Irving playing this season, he has every right to give his two cents on how he's feeling and if he wants to play this year. Irving has been extremely intentional about his rehab, and the Mavericks should provide an official update on what they plan to do soon.