DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks and Kyrie Irving have agreed on a $119 million, three-year contract with the All-Star guard still recovering from a torn ACL that will sideline him into the 2025-26 season, a person with knowledge of the deal said Tuesday night.
Irving is declining the $43 million player option in the final year of his current three-year contract, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal isn’t expected to be finalized until the start of the new league year on July 6.
The new contract will align Irving with co-star Anthony Davis, who joined the Mavericks in the seismic trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. Davis has three years remaining on his contract, with a player option that now will be the same season as Irving, 2027-28.
The agreement with Irving came on the eve of the NBA draft, with the Mavericks poised to take former Duke star Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick after winning the draft lottery despite having just a 1.8% chance to do so.
Irving also is a Duke alum, as is young center Dereck Lively II. Once the nine-time All-Star returns from his injury, perhaps in December or January, all three among Irving, Lively and Flagg figure to be in the starting lineup.
The 33-year-old Irving came to the Mavericks in a 2023 trade after a tumultuous tenure in Brooklyn. The idea then was to pair him with Doncic, and a year later the duo led Dallas to the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years. Boston beat the Mavs in five games last June.
The stunning decision to send Doncic to the Lakers elevated Irving’s status, although Davis’ championship pedigree with the Lakers essentially put the two on even footing.
Davis went down with a groin injury in his Dallas debut, and before he could come back, Irving sustained his knee injury about a month after the Doncic trade.
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