8 Potential Dallas Mavericks free agent targets with ties to Kyrie Irving

The Dallas Mavericks have to improve their roster this offseason after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Luka Doncic averaged a career-high 32.4 points per game, but the roster around him simply was not good enough. The Mavs traded for Kyrie Irving in February, but that further unbalanced their roster and led to a late-season collapse. Dallas lost 18 of their final 25 games to miss the playoffs entirely.

Kyrie is an unrestricted free agent this summer and is in no rush to make his decision. The eight-time All-Star wants a max contract, but will anyone offer one after his turbulent three-and-a-half-year stint in Brooklyn? There is no questioning Irving’s talent on the court, but it has not always been smooth sailing away from it.

The Mavericks gave up two starters and three draft picks, including one first-rounder, to acquire Kyrie, so they are committed to bringing him back. Can they work out a new deal? Irving appears wants to get more talent to Dallas, and the Mavs could target players that have a history with Kyrie.

Dallas Mavericks potential free agent targets with ties to Kyrie Irving

8. DeAndre Jordan

This one seems unlikely considering Jordan’s history with the Mavericks. For those who don’t remember, he agreed to a deal with Dallas as a free agent in 2015 only to change course during the moratorium and re-sign with the Clippers. Then, the Mavericks convinced him to come in 2018 only for Jordan to be traded to New York after just 50 games in the Kristaps Porzingis deal.

Kyrie and DJ won an Olympic gold medal together for Team USA in 2016, and both joined the Nets in free agency in 2019. Kevin Durant and Irving both took less money, so they could get Jordan. Things didn’t go as planned, but Jordan made it clear that his bond with KD and Kyrie goes beyond basketball.

The 34-year-old big man has turned into more of a leader and locker-room presence in Denver this year. JaVale McGee figures to be the Dallas Mavericks' third-string center next season, and DeAndre Jordan’s defending is problematic at this stage. The fit is not there, but if signing Jordan to a minimum deal means keeping Kyrie Irving, the Mavs should do it.