Kyrie Irving, Mavericks
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Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks lies on the court after suffering an injury in the first half against the Sacramento Kings.
Dallas Mavericks‘ options to fill in for the injured Kyrie Irving‘s massive shoes could start with another championship-level point guard.
The Mavericks are expected “to at least explore whether there are any feasible trade pathways” to Boston’s Jrue Holiday, NBA insider Marc Stein reported on his “The Stein Line” Substack newsletter on Monday.
Stein, however, noted that trading for Holiday is “complicated” because there are still three years and $104 million remaining on the Celtics starting point guard’s contract.
Though Holiday is coming off his worst season offensively since his rookie year, no thanks to injuries, the 34-year-old point guard has championship pedigree and a reputation as a good on-ball defender.
Holiday’s four-point dud in Game 6 loss to the New York Knicks in the second round capped what had been his worst season since his rookie year. He averaged just 11.1 points on 44.3% field goal shooting and 35.3% from the 3-point line.
Jrue Holiday a Perfect Fit With and Without Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving, Jrue Holiday, Mavericks
Getty Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks dribbles the ball against Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics.
Still, Holiday can play on and off the ball, which makes him a great fit even when Irving comes back from his ACL tear. The six-time All-NBA Defensive guard will also cover up for Irving’s defensive deficiencies.
As Harrison repeatedly said on why he traded away Doncic, “defense wins championships.”
Holiday has done it twice with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Celtics.
The Mavericks will not have big spending power in free agency to as they will operate as an apron team.
An increased payroll brought by Flagg’s rookie-scale contract as the No.1 pick and an expected lucrative extension for Irving, who has a $43 million player option, will put them above the two aprons, according to ESPN’s front office insider Bobby Marks.
If they go above the second apron, they will not be able to aggregate players in a trade, the same predicament that the Celtics are facing.
Adding Starting-Level Point Guard is Mavericks’ Top Priority
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported at the NBA Draft Combine that the Mavericks will prioritize adding a point guard to their roster.
“I’m told the Mavericks will be pursuing a point guard,” Charania said, “whether that’s in the trade market, or in free agency. That’s a big priority for them. Kyrie Irving is targeting potentially sometime in January to make his return. We’ll see which point guard they can have as a plug-and-play for them.”
With limited flexibility, the trade route would be their best option to add a starting-caliber point guard.
“They’re going to have, they do have tradable contracts. I think they are going to look to add to that team in a very meaningful way,” Charania said.
The NBA insider noted that the Mavericks will build around Irving, Flagg and Anthony Davis as the team’s core.
Flagg’s arrival leads to questions about PJ Washington‘s long-term future in Dallas. Washington is eligible to sign a four-year, $89.2 million extension.
The veteran forward is a valuable trade chip for the Mavericks as an expiring contract ($14.1 million).
Point Guards in Free Agent Market
In free agency, Dallas can add a point guard via the veteran’s minimum or the taxpayer midlevel exception. Gaining access to the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception will depend on what they do with Irving and Washington’s contract situations.
Fred VanVleet is out of their price range. The champion point guard is likely to return to Houston on a new deal. He has a $44.9 million team option.
That leaves unrestricted free agents Chris Paul, D’Angelo Russell, Malcolm Brodgon, Tre Jones, Gary Payton II and Spencer Dinwiddie as their potential options.
It will be a busy summer for Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison.