Kyrie Irving Says 'There's No Rush' to Sign Mavericks Contract Extension After Trade

Kyrie Irving was traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Dallas Mavericks, but the veteran point guard is not interested in hammering out a new contract with his new franchise immediately.

Irving told reporters Tuesday that "there's no rush" for him to sign an extension with the Mavs and that he's focused on the remainder of the 2022-23 season.

The Nets traded Irving and veteran forward Markieff Morris to the Mavericks in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and two second-round picks.

Irving is in the final year of a four-year, $136.49 million contract he signed with the Nets in the summer of 2019 and is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

While Irving said he's in no rush to put pen to paper on a deal with the Mavericks, NBA insider Marc Stein also reported Sunday that Dallas did not promise the eight-time All-Star a new contract.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week that Irving had been seeking a four-year, $198.5 million maximum contract extension that was available for him to sign with the Nets until June 30. However, since he was traded, he's only available to sign a two-year, $78.6 million max extension with the Mavs until that date.

Irving will be eligible to sign a longer-term maximum contract after June 30. The Mavericks can offer him a five-year, $272.92 million max extension, per Forbes. The most any other franchise can offer him is four years and $201.67 million.

It's unclear if the Mavericks or any other franchise would be open to signing Irving on a maximum contract. He turns 31 on March 23, so a four-year deal would take him through his age-35 season, while a five-year pact would take him through his age-36 season.

That's a lot of time and money for a franchise to commit to any player, but especially to one who has not upheld his commitment to each of the last two franchises he has played for.

Additionally, it is also a lot for a franchise to commit to someone who has faced immense criticism for a number of troubling actions, the most recent coming in the form of sharing a link to an antisemitic book and film on his social media accounts that resulted in an eight-game suspension by the Nets. The team noted Irving's promotion of the film as well as his refusal to apologize and "failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so."

Irving apologized for the post on social media only after he had been suspended, but he recently deleted the apology from his Instagram. He addressed it during his introductory press conference with the Mavericks on Tuesday (h/t Jack Baer of Yahoo Sports):

"I delete a lot of things on my Instagram. I've had things that have happened before in my life, probably not as drastic as that moment, which led to a lot of confusion and uncertainty about what I meant and what I stand for. I had to sit up in front of these mikes and explain to the world who I am and I know who I am. I delete things all the time and it's no disrespect to anyone in the community. Just living my life."

Aside from the off-court issues, it's worth noting that Irving is still competing at a high level. Through 40 games with the Nets this season, he averaged 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 48.6 percent from the floor and 37.4 percent from deep.

Irving is expected to make his Mavericks debut Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers, per Wojnarowski. However, Luka Dončić is expected to miss that game because of a heel injury.

Irving and Dončic are expected to be one of the best duos in the NBA once they take the court together. If that proves to be true, it's reasonable to believe the Mavs will take a shot at extended the veteran point guard.

If Irving doesn't remain in Dallas, though, the Mavericks will be looking for another superstar to pair with Dončić this summer.