The Dallas Mavericks have had an unfortunate start to the season, despite high offseason expectations. The team currently sits at a 4-10 record, 13th in the Western Conference, and Anthony Davis has joined Kyrie Irving on the injury list with a left calf injury. Now, with the team struggling despite #1 overall pick Cooper Flagg’s best efforts, the team might have just received a lifeline.

Veteran NBA insider Marc Spears recently reported that Irving is working out with the intention of returning this season, but more surprisingly, added that someone close to Kyrie’s camp said, “If this were the playoffs, he could play right now.” Suddenly, what once seemed like a closed door now appears to have cracked open.

However, Irving still has significant hurdles to overcome. After tearing the ACL in his left knee last year, he has undergone extensive monitoring and rehabilitation, and while his recovery may not be as public-facing as someone like Jayson Tatum, some reports suggest that he could return as soon as January 2026. If that were to happen, the team also hopes that Irving will be able to play a significant portion of the 2025-26 season as the team attempts to make a playoff push.

However, Spears also clarified, “By the time he’s able to come back late January, there’s going to be a collective decision from him, from the team, from everybody that’s close to him about whether it’s worth it for him to come back or not. He wants to be back.”

Following former GM Nico Harrison’s firing, head coach Jason Kidd has made it clear that the plans haven’t changed for Irving’s return. Previously, during the Mavs’ game in Mexico City, Kidd had spoken to how Irving could improve the roster, saying, “Ky is going to be a perfect fit with Cooper Flagg, when you talk about his skillset of being able to dribble and score… He also creates space on the floor for Cooper, and vice versa. We just can’t wait to get Ky back at some point.”

For Mavericks fans, the update on Kyrie Irving might be the only stabilizing force, especially with Anthony Davis now under fire.

Anthony Davis Facing Trade Pressure After Packers Jersey Backlash

Kyrie Irving’s return seems to come at a precarious time for the Dallas Mavericks and Anthony Davis. Davis, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers in the blockbuster midseason trade for Luka Doncic, has drawn strong criticism for his health and availability, which includes over 70% of Mavs games missed since his acquisition, on top of coming into the season 15 pounds heavier than last season. With Dallas’ poor start and Nico Harrison gone, new management could reconsider Davis’s role, or even consider trading him.

Bringing more fuel to the fire is Davis’s sideline moment from Dallas‘ game against the Trail Blazers, when he was spotted wearing a Green Bay Packers Jordan Love jersey. Given the heated rivalry between the Cowboys and the Packers, many saw it as a tone-deaf move; an optics issue that compromised his role within the wider Dallas sports community.

Davis, back at Media Day, explained the connection, saying, “I wasn’t into football when I first got into the NBA, right? And my head coach at the time, Monty Williams, told me that I have to have a football team… And Randall Cobb went to Kentucky. And me and him were really cool when he got drafted to the Packers. So I’m like, ‘Well, I’m going to just cheer for wherever he goes to.’ And realize we are a very good football team. And that’s how it kind of happened.” However, that didn’t erase the backlash, and for some Mavs fans, the jersey is now symbolic of Davis’s disconnect from the city and its culture.

Now, with Kyrie possibly on the horizon, Dallas faces a crossroads. Do they commit to an aging but proven upside of Irving and Davis, with the latter’s increasingly polarizing presence, or do they finally move on, handing the keys to Cooper Flagg?