Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[KillerLeft]

Kyrie adressed this openly at media day. He knows that he is much older than Flagg and what that means in terms of NBA team building. It is a good thing that everybody from the organization keeps saying the right things throughout this process so far.

Of course it is possible that Kyrie finishes his career here IF the Mavs can ascend to contender status quickly but that is a long shot at this point. The reality is that he might very well still be an allstar caliber player. Moving on from that would be hard but there are scenarios where it can end up being the best for the future of the organization.

But for now that is not the priority. The new season is right around the corner and the best that can happen for everybody involved is Kyrie and the Mavs getting off to a good start.

I agree with all of this, and unfortunately, the nature of how conversations run their course here has a way of funneling folks into one of two extremes on each topic. 

I do think Kyrie is in a position to add significant value to the rebuild at this time - I get all of that. I'm way less hopeful than some that anything they'll achieve this season will even moderately resemble competitiveness, but the presence of high level veteran experience and leadership in the form of NBA royalty has value, of course. 

It's just that my read of the tea leaves me feeling the most likely outcome is that it will be best for all parties, Kyrie included, to move him along to a team actually in contention at the deadline (if he stays healthy that long). I strongly feel that his value to other teams will start to diminish quickly past that point, along with his ability to secure the type of contract he's wanting. I could be wrong, and none of this should be taken as lack of desire to see him play well in a Mavs uniform.