Kyrie Irving’s ACL injury was a huge blow for the Dallas Mavericks, but Shams Charania has provided fans with an update on when they can expect to see him again.
Things went from bad to worse for the Dallas Mavericks on the court after they traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 2nd, and a lot of it had to do with injuries.
Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, and Dereck Lively II all missed significant portions of the last two months of the NBA regular season. Perhaps the biggest blow came when Kyrie Irving went down, though.
The dazzling point guard suffered a devastating knee injury in a game against the Sacramento Kings on March 3rd. He heroically stayed in to take his free throws, but his injury turned out to be quite serious.
The former NBA champion was ruled out for a year, having to undergo surgery on a torn ACL. Considering that he is 33 years old, this was an extremely concerning update.
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Shams Charania says Kyrie Irving will return sooner than expected
If the expectation that it would take a year for him to return stayed true, then Irving would return with around a month left in the 2025-26 regular season.
However, the ultimate NBA insider reported the target date for Kai’s return on ESPN’s NBA Countdown, and it seems that he might take to the court sooner than imagined.
“Kyrie Irving’s return, that’s the big question now,” Charania said. “The expectation around the Dallas Mavericks is that he will play a good chunk of next season. And there’s optimism that he will be back by January.
The superstar guard is the key to the Dallas offence after they traded Doncic away. His scoring and playmaking abilities are paramount for Jason Kidd to have alongside AD’s post presence.
Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game this season before going down.
Nico Harrison has to worry about Kyrie’s contract situation
Having been acquired after a low point in his career with the Brooklyn Nets, the Mavericks signed Irving to a three-year, $120 million contract till the end of the 2025-26 season.
However, he has a player option worth $43 million on the last year of his deal, meaning he could be a free agent as early as the coming offseason.
This is a major worry for GM Nico Harrison, who is currently in the middle of a media storm. Former Mavericks players have ripped into him, and even Stephen A. Smith clowned Harrison on ESPN.
If he cannot re-sign Irving, trading Doncic away will look even worse. This puts Kyrie in a position of power, and with his seemingly accelerated return timeline, the star guard could get a potentially huge deal from the Mavericks.
The post ‘Expectation’ – Kyrie Irving injury timeline revealed as Mavericks star continues ACL recovery appeared first on HITC.
