It will be an offseason of change for the Dallas Mavericks. In fact, the changes already began with the front office and the coaching staff. While the Mavs are looking for their next head coach, important personnel decisions also have to be made.
Since the Mavericks are entering a rebuild around Cooper Flagg, there will be trade interest for their veteran starters. At the top of the list is obviously Kyrie Irving.
After missing the entire 2025-26 campaign recovering from an ACL tear, Irving will be healthy to start next season. He will be 18 months removed from the injury. He may take some time to get back to his pre-injury form, but at age 34, Irving should still have another season or two of All-Star-level play.
For playoff teams that want to take the next step into contender status, Irving will be a hot name on the trade market. The Detroit Pistons are among those teams.
The Pistons will almost certainly make a big swing for a second star around Cade Cunningham. If they pursue Irving, what would a reasonable trade package look like? What should be the Mavs' asking price?
It's wise to trade Kyrie Irving sooner rather than later
Detroit is an ideal trade partner for the Mavs. They have all of their first-round picks going forward, as well as the 21st-overall pick in this year's draft. Plus, they have a slew of intriguing young players who should be of interest to Dallas.
Given age and injury concerns surrounding Irving, the Mavs are unlikely to get a massive haul back. Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren will be out of the question. Ron Holland, the former fifth-overall pick, however, should be a solid consolation prize. He is still only 20 years old, is already an elite defender, and has excellent physical and athletic tools. He would be a worthy flier.
Isaiah Stewart is another talented young player whom the Mavs can flip again for positive trade value. If they want to keep him, he could add physicality and defensive intensity. Caris LeVert is included mostly for salary-matching purposes, but he still has some value thanks to his expiring contract.
To make this worth Dallas' while, the Pistons send the No. 21 pick in this year's draft and another unprotected first-round pick.
On paper, this may not seem enough for some Mavericks fans, but it's important to remember the severity of Irving's injury. There will be some pressure to let Irving play and rehabilitate his trade value and move him at the deadline. But there is no guarantee that his play will actually boost his value. In that scenario, the Mavs might regret not accepting an offer like this when they had the chance.
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