The Dallas Mavericks made an incredible bet this season when they decided to trade perennial 25-year-old MVP candidate Luka Doncic for an injury-prone 31-year-old like Anthony Davis. They bet they would win a title within the next two seasons, but the Mavericks are further away from a title than they could have imagined now that Kyrie Irving tore his ACL and will miss the rest of this season.
Irving will likely not return before most of next season is over given the 9-12 month recovery window from the injury. Fans who saw Irving injure himself knew it was a season-ender, especially with the load Irving has carried this season.
Prior to Luka Doncic being traded away, Irving was carrying the team’s guard production on-court because Doncic wasn’t available due to injury.
Since Doncic has been traded, Irving has averaged 27.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 39.4 minutes per game (nine appearances).
Many might have forgotten that Irving played through most of January 2025 with a bulging disc in his back, unable to take time off to heal it as the Mavericks needed every ounce of production they could give him.
Due to Irving’s high minutes off late, many are actively debating if his injury was a result of the load being put on his body.
“Kyrie tearing his ACL wasn’t inevitable, but it wasn’t unimaginable either. Trading away a generational talent in his 20s for a 31-year-old with a significant injury history, then driving your 32-year-old star into the ground despite his own injury history is…extremely confusing,” said Rachel Nichols about the injury after Tim Cato shared Irving’s post-trade stats.
This could be a career-altering injury for Irving. The 32-year-old will likely miss the next year of basketball. Unless the Mavericks are fighting for the Playoffs next March, Irving likely gets held out until the 2026-27 season, a year where he’ll turn 35 and deal with the consequence of not being able to move as explosively as we’ve seen him up until now.
It also could greatly affect his future in the NBA, as Irving was expected to be a free agent in 2025 after declining a $43.9 million player option. With the injury, it’s unclear if Irving can net the max contract extension many assumed he’d be receiving if he got to play the season out. He was a contender for All-NBA as well, which could’ve increased his payday.
Irving will likely accept the player option and hope he can return next season for a competitive Mavs squad. The team does hope to remain competitive with players like Anthony Davis, so if they’re in a Playoff position and Irving can return to help them on a postseason run, he could earn back a significant contract extension.
The odds of that happening are slim, as we’ve seen players much younger than Irving need more time off before returning. Jamal Murray’s ACL tear in the middle of the 2020-21 season ensured he wouldn’t return until midway through the 2022-23 season, which ended with him winning a championship with the Denver Nuggets.
That would be the ideal ending to this situation, but Irving seems to be paying the karmic cost of the Mavs’ actions this season.
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