Mavs' Updated Salary Cap After Kyrie Irving's Rumored $119M Contract

The Dallas Mavericks committed to Kyrie Irving for the long haul on Tuesday.

Per ESPN's Shams Charania, Irving declined his $43 million player option and plans to sign a three-year, $119 million contract with the Mavs. He'll have a player option for the 2027-28 season.

Per Spotrac, Dallas would have been $74.8 million over the salary cap with $819,667 in first apron space and $12.7 million in second apron space. Had Irving opted into his $43 million player option, it would have sent the Mavericks over the second apron.

ESPN's Bobby Marks noted that Irving's new contract will likely allow Dallas to use its $5.7 million tax midlevel exception.

According to Charania, the Mavs could target Dennis Schröder, D'Angelo Russell, Chris Paul or Malcolm Brogdon with the $5.7 million midlevel exception. Irving is set to miss much of the 2025-26 season as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered in March, and Dallas will need to find a point guard to take over for him until his return.

After bouncing from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Boston Celtics to the Brooklyn Nets over the last decade, Irving has found some of the best years of his career in Dallas. In his first full season in Dallas, Irving posted 25.6 points, 5.2 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game and helped lead the team to the NBA Finals.

Last season, he averaged 24.7 points, 4.6 assists and 4.8 boards in 50 games before his injury.

According to Charania, there was a belief among rival executives that Irving was in line for a potential $50-60 million annual deal before suffering the torn ACL. Unfortunately for Irving, that would have been a high price for Dallas to pay for a 33-year-old guard coming off a serious injury.

Still, Irving landed a lucrative extension and has the chance to help the Mavericks find success in the post-Luka Dončić era. The team's success largely depends on when Irving can be back on the floor, but a core of Irving, Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson should at least be able to compete in the playoffs.