Things aren’t looking great for the Dallas Mavericks right now. The team is struggling at 12th place in the Western Conference standings. This is definitely not where they want to be. Honestly, a big part of their problems started when Kyrie Irving went down with an injury last season.
Since then, the team has been missing that veteran leadership and guidance on the court. Now, head coach Jason Kidd has dropped another bombshell that has got fans even more worried.
Jason Kidd’s Recent Revelation Regarding the Mavs
Before the Mavericks faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers, Kidd sat down for a pregame interview and didn’t exactly deliver the news everyone wanted to hear.
When asked about the possibility of seeing Irving, Anthony Davis, and Cooper Flagg all on the court together this season, Kidd basically said there’s no guarantee that’s going to happen.
“We would love to see that in ’26. There’s no guarantee…Until we get closer for Kai, or closer for AD, then we can start paying a little bit more attention to that. But right now those guys are out for some time…We would love to see that trio at some point,” said Kidd during the interview.
Irving suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee on March 3 last season during a game against the Sacramento Kings. The injury happened early in the first quarter when Irving drove to the basket and was fouled by DeMar DeRozan. As he came down, his foot clipped King’s center Jonas Valanciunas. That threw him off balance.
Irving then landed awkwardly on his left leg, and his knee bent in a bad way. Despite the pain, Irving stayed on the floor long enough to knock down two free throws. After that, he walked off and headed straight to the locker room.
About a month after the injury, Irving underwent surgery. At the time, the expectation was that he could return by January of this season. However, that return never happened. Kidd has also confirmed that there is still no clear timetable for Irving’s comeback.
“At some point, there will be a timeline, but right now, there is no timeline. (Kyrie Irving) wants to get back; he wants to play. But when you’re coming back from an ACL, it’s a time thing,” Kidd said as per Marc Stein.
NBA insider Tim MacMahon also recently reported that the Mavericks might actually hold Irving out for the rest of this season and wait until next year to bring him back.
“He has yet to be cleared to practice, and while Irving has made it clear that he hopes to play this season, sources anticipate that, considering the Mavs’ place in the standings, there will be discussions about postponing his comeback until next season,” MacMahon recently reported.
The injury bug hasn’t just hit Irving either. Davis has been dealing with his own problems. He is currently sitting out with a left finger sprain and has missed the last seven straight games.
At least there’s one bright spot for Dallas. Flagg has really stepped up, as he’s averaging 18.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. Now the big question remains unanswered, and it is whether Irving will make a return later this season, or will Mavericks fans have to wait until next year to see him back on the court?
