March 3rd, 2025—aka the day reality slapped the Mavericks square in the face. Luka Doncic’s exit made one thing crystal clear: Kyrie Irving was the guy now. The face. The hope. The… disaster. What followed? A month-long PR meltdown, endless headlines, and enough drama to fuel a whole season of Hard Knocks: NBA Edition. Then came the cherry on top—Kyrie’s ACL injury. He went down harder than Mavs fans’ expectations the moment they saw it coming. And now, we’ve got confirmation straight from the source. How bad is it? Well, pretty bad. The kind of bad that echoes through an empty off-season.

Initial reports had Kyrie slated for a January 2026 return. At first, that felt like forever. But in recent weeks, something’s shifted—hope. Inside the Mavericks’ camp, optimism has been quietly building. Word is, he’s progressing better than expected. Trainers are encouraged, coaches are cautiously upbeat, and there’s a growing sense he might just beat the timeline. Of course, with Kyrie, it’s never just about the knee. The mental game matters just as much. Still, for a team reeling from one gut punch after another, even a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel feels like something worth believing in.

But that was until Unc Drew came out with an update himself. And let’s just say that the Mavs might lose that quality that makes them the Mavericks of the NBA. “Don’t hold your breath on that. You know what I’m saying? It doesn’t mean that I won’t be back. It’s just don’t, I don’t want to make any predictions on when I’m going to be back. I just want to be back 150,000 % better. So I’m taking my time right now to really get healthy. I’m taking my time to really get my body right, other parts of portions of my body right. And really just enjoy this recovery process, man. It’s not pretty,” said Irving the streamer.

Cooper Flagg coming in might just make your life as a Mavs fan a little more bearable. I mean, come on—Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, and the No.1 draft pick? That’s the kind of lineup you dream up during a late-night rebuild on MyLeague. It all looked like the perfect setup for Kyrie Irving to return, take charge, and maybe push for a surprise title run. You could almost taste it. But hey, you know how this league works—nothing ever goes according to plan. Just when you think the stars are aligning, life hits you with a no-look turnover.

But were the changes to the coashing staff as unexpected? You’d have bet your mortgage on Nico Harrison to try and steady the ship as much as possible after the worst season in years. And what do those efforts lead to? A virual disbandment of the front office. It might be time for the Mavs fanbase to stick their head in the dirt anyway.

Kyrie Irving’s news wasn’t what Nico Harrison needed after front office changes

They’re pretty set on Jason Kidd—and honestly, that’s a solid start. A steady hand steering the boat through some seriously murky waters. But the rest? Yeah, no one saw that coming. Or maybe you did, because let’s be real—when has Nico Harrison not pulled something out of left field? At this point, it’s kind of his thing. You blink, and boom—Klay Thompson’s in a Mavs jersey, AD’s making headlines, and a top draft pick’s suddenly part of the plan. Chaos? Maybe. Calculated? You bet. But how calculated is too calculated?

Jared Dudley bounced to Denver, Sean Sweeney’s off to San Antonio, and yes—God Shammgod is now blessing the Magic in Orlando. One by one, the assistants are packing up and heading elsewhere, leaving Dallas with some reshuffling to do behind the scenes. It’s not exactly panic mode, but it’s definitely a shake-up. And with Jason Kidd locked in as the guy, the pressure’s on to build a new support squad that can keep the ship steady—especially with the stakes higher than ever this season.

That’s the mantra D-Town’s gotta follow this season – “the stakes are higher than ever before.” You’re not the Cinderella team anymore, thanks to the Pacers. So, what do you do? Form a team good enough to at least contest well in the playoffs, pass the mic to Kyrie Irving on his return, and watch him dance the beat like he dances around your heroes every game.