Kyrie Irving would leave the Dallas Mavericks for the Miami Heat in a three-team trade proposal from Heavy, with Dallas getting 26-year-old Darius Garland back from the LA Clippers.
Dallas would also pick up a 2027 second-round pick via Oklahoma City. To land Garland, the Mavericks would send the Clippers the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick they acquired in the Luka Dončić trade.
The question underneath the proposal is one Dallas has refused to entertain all summer.
Irving turns 35 in March. Cooper Flagg is 19. Both went No. 1 overall out of Duke, 14 drafts apart.
The Stein Line’s Marc Stein reported last month that the Mavericks have consistently swatted away trade interest in Irving since mid-June. Stein wrote that rival teams still wonder whether Dallas will hold that line as the Feb. 11 deadline approaches, and that the age gap between the franchise’s two best players is the main reason.
Dallas has told interested teams it wants to keep Irving next to Flagg, sources told Dallas Sports Journal. Flagg leaned on Irving for mentorship last season even though Irving never played.
A Mavericks executive told Spotrac’s Keith Smith in July that the team was not looking to move Irving and that Irving was not looking to be moved.
Irving tore his left ACL on March 3, 2025, and missed all of 2025-26. He enters this season with career regular-season averages of 23.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists. His playoff averages are 23.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists.
He is owed $39.5 million this season and holds a player option for 2027-28. He does not have a no-trade clause.
Dallas has a new front office making the call. Masai Ujiri runs basketball operations, Mike Schmitz is the general manager and Dusty May replaced Jason Kidd as head coach.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon has written that Irving could become a prime target for contenders at the deadline if the Mavericks struggle.
The proposal would also cost Dallas one of its most valuable draft assets. Under Heavy’s terms, the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick goes to the Clippers rather than coming back to the Mavericks.
Garland makes $42.1 million this season and $44.8 million in 2027-28, which takes the salary commitment one year past Irving’s option.
Irving has not played an NBA game in more than 18 months. How he looks alongside Flagg in the first half of the season will likely set his trade value before the deadline.
The Mavericks have given no public indication they have discussed Irving with Miami or the Clippers.
