The push to pry Kyrie Irving out of Dallas is running into a problem that interested teams cannot solve with draft picks.

Irving is now the single most asked-about name when NBA executives call ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon, he said on The Hoop Collective podcast this week. His own read on where the Mavericks guard stands is unambiguous.

“Kyrie, I think, is very, very happy and comfortable with his situation in Dallas,” MacMahon told the podcast, adding that the more time he spends around the team, the harder a deal looks.

“The more I see the team, the more I’m around the team, the more I think it’s gonna be awfully hard to trade him,” he said.

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Pistons and Rockets lead the queue

Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix called Irving the “most in-demand player at the trade deadline” because he is “not on the Mavericks’ timeline.” Mannix pointed to Detroit as a club that “will be salivating over getting Kyrie Irving,” with Houston, where Irving has longstanding ties to head coach Ime Udoka and star Kevin Durant, the other franchise he flagged.

ESPN’s Shams Charania has reported that several teams are watching the situation and that the Miami Heat are among those monitoring it, though doubts remain about Miami’s ability to assemble a competitive package after acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Yahoo Sports NBA insider Kevin O’Connor sees no logic in a deal at all.

“I don’t get the fascination with Kyrie Irving as a trade target. Why would the Mavericks trade Kyrie?” O’Connor said, arguing that any offer “would have to be massive overpays.”

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The Cooper Flagg factor

Dallas is 4-2 to start the 2026-27 season under first-year head coach Dusty May, and Irving has been producing fireworks alongside 19-year-old rookie Cooper Flagg. The pair combined for 68 points in a 116-111 win over the Houston Rockets, Irving posting 35 points and nine assists and Flagg adding 33 points and nine rebounds.

MacMahon told the podcast the fit between the 34-year-old guard and the reigning Rookie of the Year is a bigger reason to keep Irving than to deal him. Flagg’s ability to initiate the offense has taken pressure off Irving, he said, and the Mavericks look more like a team that can play its way into contention than one that needs to tear everything down.

No official word from the Mavericks

The organization has not publicly addressed the speculation, and Irving himself has not spoken on the record. The 2027 NBA trade deadline is set for 3pm Eastern time on Thursday, February 11.

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