Mavericks trade idea sends Kyrie Irving to Bucks for $90 million ex-Lakers NBA champion forward originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Dallas Mavericks are likely looking forward to their Apr. 12 contest against the Chicago Bulls.

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Why? Because it’s the franchise’s final game of the season before they begin identifying offseason moves that could help them succeed in 2026-27.

Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley believes that trading Kyrie Irving to the Milwaukee Bucks for a former Los Angeles Lakers NBA champion forward would be a wise offseason move for the franchise.

“For as much as the Mavericks might want to see how Cooper Flagg would look with a healthy Irving, they should be more eager for the opportunity to add potential long-term building blocks,” Buckley wrote Sunday.

“Adding a second top-10 pick in a class as celebrated as this could be enormous, and that’s before factoring in what the future might hold for (Ryan) Rollins, a 23-year-old in the thick of the Most Improved Player race.”

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“Remember, after this summer, Dallas won’t control its own first-round pick again until 2031. The time to chase high-end young talent is right now, especially if they could potentially gain two keepers in exchange for a 34-year-old with a long injury history and the money owed to (Kyle) Kuzma and (Bobby) Portis.”

For clarity, Buckley’s trade idea would send Irving to the Bucks for the No. 10 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, Rollins, Portis, and Kuzma.

Losing Irving would be disappointing, but it could allow the Mavericks to set themselves up for future success by surrounding Flagg with competent role players and a draft pick that could turn out to be a special player in the big leagues.

Kuzma is the contributor who stands out from the rest of the pack, as he has valuable championship experience as a 30-year-old veteran and has been an above-average player his whole career.

At the end of the day, Buckley’s offseason trade proposal makes perfect sense.

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