Kyrie Irving now appears to have multiple potential escape routes from the rebuilding Dallas Mavericks.
Rival NBA executives are not convinced that Irving will finish out the 2026-27 season in Dallas, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported on Wednesday. Fischer adds that the Houston Rockets and the Miami Heat have emerged as two potential early suitors for Irving in particular.
Irving, the nine-time NBA All-Star, is now 34 years old. He will be returning for the Mavericks next season after missing the entire 2025-26 campaign due to a torn ACL.
Meanwhile, Dallas appears to be tearing things down, and they have made some notable rebuilding moves over the last several months, including trading Anthony Davis, buying out Klay Thompson, and replacing head coach Jason Kidd with Dusty May. As a result, the status of Irving, who is signed for $39.5 million next season and has a $42.4 million player option for 2027-28 as well, has been called into question.
The Heat are a title hopeful this season after trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and they also have Irving’s former Mavericks teammates Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr. on the roster. The Rockets are also trying to compete for an NBA championship and boast Irving’s former Brooklyn Nets co-star Kevin Durant.
Dallas has been adamant for now that they intend to keep the former NBA champion Irving. But even Irving himself seems to recognize at this point that the writing may be on the wall for him.