Free-agent guard Kyrie Irving has agreed to a three-year, $126 million contract to return to the Dallas Mavericks, with a player option in the third season, league sources confirmed to The Athletic on Friday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Irving averaged 27.0 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals through 20 games with the Mavericks last season.
- The 2016 NBA champion’s agent – Shetellia Riley Irving, Kyrie’s stepmother – will become the first Black woman to negotiate and complete an NBA contract.
- The eight-time All-Star requested a trade from the Nets in February, saying he would leave in free agency otherwise, and was dealt to Dallas shortly after.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Will the Irving-Dončić pairing work?
While Luka Dončić was frustrated with the team’s catastrophic collapse last season, which caused the Mavericks to miss the playoffs for the first time since his rookie year, his frustrations weren’t with Irving. Whether the two ball-dominant guards can maximize their talent together is one question, but it clearly worked at times, such as the duo combining for 82 points in a win against the Philadelphia 76ers in early March.
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What really caused Dallas to struggle and flame out last season was the lack of talent around the team’s new star combination, and the team’s ability to address that in free agency in the coming days will determine whether the Mavericks can be a convincing postseason threat. That’s assuming, of course, Irving is satisfied with the team’s negotiations and remains relatively available on the court — which hasn’t always been the case in the past few years. — Cato
Backstory
The 31-year-old’s fourth season in Brooklyn was tumultuous. Irving was suspended in November due to his promotion of an antisemitic documentary and was required to complete a list of six action items to return to the team.
Irving, the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, spent the first six years of his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He then went to the Boston Celtics for two seasons before signing with the Nets.
Irving hasn’t played more than 60 games in a season in four years; he’s only had three seasons in his 12 in the NBA that would make him award-eligible (more than 65 games). He holds career averages of 23.4 points, 5.7 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Required reading
- Hollinger: Kyrie, Harden and the NBA’s top 25 free agents by BORD$ projections
- NBA’s top free-agent point guards in 2023: Kyrie Irving, D’Angelo Russell and more
- Kyrie Irving staying with Mavericks was inevitable. Now comes the hard part
(Photo: Dale Zanine/USA Today)