Report: Kyrie Irving's Mavs Contract Includes $120M Guaranteed, $6M in Incentives

The three-year contract guard Kyrie Irving signed with the Dallas Mavericks this week is reportedly almost fully guaranteed.

According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, the three-year, $126 million deal includes $120 million in guaranteed money and $6 million in incentives related to "games played and team success."

ESPN's Tim MacMahon broke down the incentives after Marks' report:

Irving's contract also includes a player option for the 2025-26 season, meaning he could potentially return to free agency after two seasons.

After Irving reportedly made it clear that he had no plans to re-sign with the Brooklyn Nets, they dealt him to the Mavericks prior to last season's trade deadline for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith a 2029 first-round pick and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029.

Irving was dealing with an injury at the time of the trade and was banged up for the rest of the year, but he did manage to play in 20 games for Dallas.

In those games, the 31-year-old veteran was highly productive, averaging 27.0 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 2.9 three-pointers made and 1.3 steals, while shooting 51.0 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Despite that, the Mavs struggled down the stretch and missed the playoffs after reaching the Western Conference Finals the previous season.

Luka Dončić has been the Mavericks' go-to guy since entering the league, but a big reason why Dallas reached the Western Conference Finals in 2022 was the fact that Jalen Brunson stepped up as a second star in the playoffs.

When Brunson signed with the New York Knicks in free agency, the Mavs scrambled to find a suitable replacement, but they were unable to do so until making the trade for Irving.

It remains to be seen how well Dončić and Irving will co-exist moving forward, but Kyrie's contract likely dictates that the Mavericks will give the pairing at least two years to show what they can do together.

Re-signing Irving was perhaps a risky move for Dallas due in part to his recent injury history, as he has played 60 or fewer games in four straight seasons, including only 20 in 2019-20 and 29 in 2021-22.

Irving also has a history of not wanting to stay in one place for too long, as he asked for a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers, left the Boston Celtics in free agency after two seasons and requested a trade out of Brooklyn.

Irving's talent and skill are beyond enticing, though, as he is an eight-time All-Star, one-time NBA champion and likely future Hall of Famer.

Dallas didn't necessarily have any better options on the table, so taking a big swing on Irving and hoping he can make magic with Dončić was an understandable decision.