Kyrie Irving is declining his player option for 2025-26 — but he’s not leaving Dallas.
In fact, he’s staying a few more years.
The Mavericks guard intends to sign a new three-year, $119 million contract that comes with a player option for the 2027-28 campaign, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday night.
The average annual value of the deal — a shade over $39 million — is less than the $43 million he was set to make this year, though the full details of the contract were not revealed.
The news comes on the eve of the 2025 NBA Draft, where the Mavericks are set to make the No. 1 pick and likely take top prospect Cooper Flagg out of Duke.
Irving likely will miss a good chunk of the 2025-26 season after he tore the ACL in his left knee in early March before undergoing surgery later that month.
ESPN reported that Irving could return as soon as January.
Irving, a nine-time All-Star, averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 50 games last season before the knee injury.
After dealing Luka Dončić in a stunner earlier this year, Dallas will now have Irving, Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson all under contract for at least the next two seasons.
That core is expected to get a major infusion in Flagg, who is believed to be a generational talent after a phenomenal freshman season.
“I wouldn’t look at anything as pressure,” Flagg told reporters Tuesday. “I think me going into whatever situation I go into, I’m just going to try to be myself all the time and I’m going push myself to be better and better every single day and make the most out of every day. I’m not worried about living up to certain players’ expectations or things like that.”
