After a rollercoaster year and a half, the Mavs faithful received hopeful news. The Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving has fully recovered from the torn ACL in his left knee that kept him sidelined for the entirety of the 2025–26 season. This huge update came from Shams Charania during an appearance on The Stephen A. Smith Show at a time when rumors have been churning surrounding Irving’s future. But the Mavs have made it clear the 9x All-Star is 100% healthy and ready to join reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg for the upcoming 2026–27 campaign.

Stephen A. Smith inquired about the veteran playmaker’s timeline following Dallas’ challenging gap year. Charania offered an optimistic outlook, detailing how Dallas intentionally played it safe with Irving’s recovery timeline following his surgery in March 2025.

“Yeah, I mean, my understanding is Kyrie Irving, his rehab has gone amazing,” Charania revealed. “There was a sense during last season that, you know, if the Mavericks were playing at a very competitive level, like Kyrie Irving could have potentially come back in December, January. But given the way the season was going, it obviously didn’t make sense for the Mavericks either to rush Kyrie Irving back onto the floor.”

Briefly, there were rumors that Irving could return later in the season as Jayson Tatum did. However, the Mavericks were at the bottom of the barrel in the West, and they’d go on to trade Anthony Davis and others to Washington.

It didn’t make sense for them to risk Irving re-aggravating his injury under these circumstances. They’ve instead ensured Kyrie is fully cleared and acquainted with new teammates and staff for a potential season-opener alongside Cooper Flagg.

“From my understanding, he’s fully recovered 100% with that ACL tear from a couple of seasons ago. He’s been fully entrenched in the Mavericks’ plans this offseason. He and Dusty May have spoken. He and Masai Ujiri, the new president, have spoken. Mike Schmitz, their new general manager, has spoken with Kyrie Irving as well. So they’re entering next season, Patrick Dumont, the owner, he really wants to see Kyrie Irving, Cooper Flagg in this team next season, how that duo looks because, you know, Kyrie Irving is the elder statesman of this team… They feel like that duo, that leadership is going to play a big role in Cooper Flagg’s development as well.”

Charania’s update is the one Dallas fans have been waiting to hear. Especially with rumors that the team is being dismantled.

Mavericks pair Kyrie Irving with Cooper Flagg for new era

Despite persistent offseason chatter linking Irving to rival teams like the Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Cleveland Cavaliers, long-time NBA insider Marc Stein reports that Dallas has continually rebuffed trade offers for the veteran point guard.

With LeBron James heading to the Philadelphia 76ers, any speculation of a reunion between James and Irving in Cleveland was firmly put to rest.

The decision to retain Irving highlights Dallas’ trust in his leadership alongside Flagg, who turned in a stellar rookie campaign, averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. Irving previously helped lead the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals alongside Luka Doncic, averaging 25.5 points and 5.1 assists across three seasons in Dallas.

The Mavs aren’t just building around Cooper Flagg. They’ve made a series of moves in preparation for Kyrie’s comeback. They recently confirmed big man Moussa Cissé to a two-year extension. They’ve also added Santi Aldama, Tarik Biberović, Zaccharie Risacher, and Marcus Sasser.

Kyrie will solve their point guard problem, and the team’s still under the midlevel non-tax exception to sign more pieces. Irving also has a player $42.4 million player option for the 2027-28 season and would be a free agent if he declined it. After rehabbing a serious injury, he could be in a position to leave himself if the Mavs are struggling at the next trade deadline.

New head coach Dusty May has already been in the gym with Irving. His exact words were, “I felt like I left the gym watching Picasso paint a picture.”

That just proves the 34-year-old superstar’s elite shotmaking and perimeter playmaking are still intact and ready to launch the new era of this Mavericks team.