The Suns‘ acquisition of Bradley Beal may leave the Mavericks as the only bidder for Kyrie Irving when free agency begins, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column.
Stein states that when Dallas traded for Irving in February, team officials were told that the Suns and Lakers were likely to pursue him this summer. Phoenix appears to have taken itself out of the race by trading for Beal, while L.A. is focused on keeping key elements of its current roster and doesn’t appear interested in bidding for Irving, according to Stein.
League sources tell Stein that the Mavs don’t seem to have any competition for Irving, although that could change before free agency kicks off in 11 days. The Rockets could get involved if they’re unsuccessful in luring James Harden back to Houston, but Stein was told that Irving would be their third choice behind Harden and Fred VanVleet.
Stein identifies the Heat as another team that could make a run at Irving after missing out on Beal, noting that Miami had interest in Irving before he was traded to Dallas. Stein is skeptical, however, believing the Heat are more focused on acquiring Damian Lillard from the Trail Blazers. Miami officials are hoping Lillard will opt for a change of scenery if Portland can’t trade the No. 3 pick for veteran help and that he would be motivated to join a team that just reached the NBA Finals.
Stein adds that the Lakers could still reverse course, but “Plan A” is to re-sign Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura while trying to add Chris Paul if he’s bought out or released once he joins the Wizards. The Clippers are reportedly trying to get their hands on Paul before that can happen, either by expanding the Beal trade or making a separate deal with Washington.
Stein notes that Mavericks haven’t wavered in their plan to re-sign Irving, and team officials believe he wants to stay in Dallas. Negotiations may still be complicated, Stein adds, because the Mavs are hoping to get Irving to agree to a team-friendly contract without alienating him. Irving can receive an estimated $210MM over four years from Dallas, but he may find himself at the bargaining table with very little leverage.
Mavs could sign and trade Kyrie for Ayton if they needed to. Get the big man they want and take team killer Kyrie out of the locker room.
Nope. Suns cannot get a player by S&T. Part of the penalties of where they are wrt to the lux tax and apron.
The possibility of this trade will expose KD true feelings about playing with Kyrie
$210 million / 4 years for KYRIE????
Ownership/Management of ANY team should be laughed out of the league if they give that mental giant anywhere near that.
Ki will get close to that for sure. Time to laugh!
All these players are so entitled and lucky.
New cba is changing this crap!
Entitled and lucky?? You’re a fool lol.
Have you not seen Kyrie play basketball? He is worth every penny.
Have you seen how often he’s off the court and what he does off the court? As a Nets’ fan, I enjoyed watching him play when he was playing but the drama was devastating to the team.
“The Bradley Beal trade may limit Kyrie Irving’s market”. That title is very misleading. The only one who has limited Kyrie Irving’s market is Kyrie himself. Takes off half the season for rest but still wants to get paid his 40 million. We see the same behaviors in other animals like John Wall, Zion, Ben Simmons, Igudola, Kawhi Leonard, etc. Playing in the NBA is a priviledge. Kyrie Irving being a leader of the NBAPA automatically proves that the association is a joke. Let these bums get paid per game, some of these guys would go from playing 20,30 games a year to playing all 82 while putting up their best numbers of their life. More often then not, you see these guys after a close game hugging eachother on opposite teams, giving handshakes, etc. They say its to show “good sportsmanship”. Yeah, sure, if these guys were getting paid per game, there would be no hugging. After a loss these guys think to themselves “Yo I may have lost but I’m still making my millions so who cares if we lose”. Thats what happens when you turn a professional organization like the NBA and give up control to the players. The players treat the NBA more like they’re in a rap video then a professional organization
Man there’s a LOT of underlying racism in this comment. Just say you hate black people bro, it would make your point quicker and spare our eyes from the nonsense you spew.
Even beyond that, there’s nothing wrong with post-game sportsmanship. You can play hard and still show signs of respect at the end.
@phenomenalajs When you hug after a game, it shows to us fans that you are in it only for money, not for the game. This stuff doesn’t happen in the MLB, NHL or NFL. The NBA is essentially a brotherhood. Its the “we are making our millions no matter what” mentality. These guys don’t go home and sit around thinking “man I really screwed up” after a loss. Most of these guys go out to clubs after a loss. Just look at Ja Morant who went out to a strip club after his team lossed. Kawhi Leonard, who was “injured” went off to a strip club after a loss. He didn’t even play in the game because of “load management”. Its getting ridiculous. Athletes from the 70s would never do stuff like this when it comes to “sportsmanship”. If you really want to hug after the game, do it when no cameras are on you atleast
@LostRealist I don’t hate black people. I dislike these outspoken guys who make millions but never play. Iv said the same things about white proffesional athletes like Stephen Strastburg, Jed Lowrie, and Chris Davis. My favorite NBA players right now are Mikal Bridges (Nets fan) and Giannis. I would never say anything like this about Lebron, he shows up to play every game, he wants to win and is mad when he losses. Anthony Davis, another dog, only shows up when he feels like it. The only reason why I’m “picking” on black players is that the league is 95% black. I’d say the same stuff about white baseball players. You need to be rational
Other then Wall he was right about guys taking days off
@nyelator I included Wall because he refused to come off the bench for Houston in his final year. He got paid 47 million for sitting at home and eating potato chips on his couch. His first game with the Clippers a year later he was dancing on the bench. You should get banned from the league for pulling stuff like that
If it involves the Mavs front office…it’ll get messed up.
It literally just takes 1 trade partner off the board.
The Lakers want Kyrie, they just aren’t stupid enough to say it publicly. They’ll wait until he says he’s gonna sign somewhere else and Cuban gets desperate. Why the Mavs ever got him in the first place…
It’s up to Kyrie whether this offseason becomes a redemption story or the fading of his career. Any team (not that any exist) that signs him for 50 mil/per is insane. He should sign a one year team friendly with the Lakers and gamble on himself. He’s still young enough to net a good contract after a redemption season. Of course this could affect bird rights and such but with his reputation what other choices does he have?
Kyrie most likely resigns with Mavs because they traded away too much to get him and most teams can’t afford to give him a max deal.
No it won’t.
Kyrie limited the market for Kyrie
Why would any team that is not desperate, Lakers and Mavs, want Kyrie Irving?
He has failed everywhere he has been. Duke, Cleveland (sorry that was Lebron), Boston, Brooklyn and Dallas.
Nothing will change, he is completely ignorant to how incredibly bad he is at TEAM basketball. Oh yeah, he will OOO and Ahh you with his Professional And-One street game, but he will win your team nothing. Everyone rebuilds after getting rid of Kyrie
But he is great for the Lakers and Dallas, because he will make them worse.
Kyrie is worth every penny the CBA allows, full stop.
He is a Laker.
The only question is, what will the Mavs take in return?
Maybe a 3rd team is required?
Kyrie in Miami?
Jimmy would have him by the throat by mid season when Kyrie went off his meds. No way you telling me that Jummy would be down with that craziness. Jimmy is serious man. The Heat are a serious organization. How does anyone take Irving seriously?
Why would anyone want this guy?