The Dallas Mavericks' intent remains to re-sign Kyrie Irving in free agency this summer. There has been considerable speculation that Irving could head to the Los Angeles Lakers, but that would require the Mavs support to make that happen.

Los Angeles is unlikely to be able to create the requisite cap space to sign Irving. That would mean a sign-and-trade deal would have to be in place to get Irving to the Lakers.

The Mavericks reportedly have no interest in acquiring D'Angelo Russell in a dual sign-and-trade deal, where Russell is the primary player headed to Dallas. That makes it difficult to see how the Lakers would be able to match the salary to bring in Irving, outside of a three-team trade.

Kyrie Irving recently told his followers on social media that speculation about his next team is a waste of time. Irving said that any announcements about his free agency will come directly from him.

That hasn't stopped the speculation that Irving could head to the Los Angeles Lakers, potentially as part of a sign-and-trade transaction. However, the Dallas Mavericks have no plans to assist another team in acquiring Irving.

The Mavs can still offer Irving the best deal, in terms of total salary and contract length. And when Dallas acquired the veteran guard at last season's trade deadline, they did so with the intention of re-signing Irving this summer.

Kyrie Irving took to Instagram Live on Wednesday and talked about his upcoming free agency. Irving made sure fans would know that any news about his career would come directly from him.

Irving said he's in no rush to make a decision about where he'll play next. He'll officially become an unrestricted free agency on July 1, with the negotiating window opening at 6:00 PM ET on June 30.

Irving again stressed that he's going to be the one to give updates on his future, and no one else.

“When they speak on my name talking about potential teams, can y’all please stop paying attention to that?" Irving asked.

The Dallas Mavericks are considered the "likely destination" for Deandre Ayton, sources told Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

"The Suns need depth. I can see them getting Tim Hardaway Jr., JaVale [McGee] back, Josh Green and No. 10," added another source.

Ayton and Luka Doncic share the same agent (Bill Duffy of WME Sports) and are on good terms.

The news contrasts Marc Stein's report from earlier in the weekend that the Mavs' interest in Ayton was "overstated."

The Suns are expected to "aggressively" shop Ayton this offseason. 

Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks reportedly had a "handshake deal" on a max contract before the trade with the Brooklyn Nets, sources told Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

"I hear they had a handshake deal before the trade [with the Brooklyn Nets]. And Kyrie wouldn't have said yes to anything less than the max," said the source.

Irving may be eligible to sign a max contract worth $272 million over five years.

Irving could also sign a three-year contract with a player option for the fourth year similar to Luka Doncic, according to another agent.

The Dallas Mavericks want to evaluate their draft options at No. 10 before they commit to trading away the pick, sources tell Marc Stein. Dallas retained their selection when no teams jumped ahead of them in the lottery as their pick was top-10 protected to the New York Knicks.

Rival front offices, however, continue to expect the Mavericks to eventually trade the pick with a combination of Tim Hardaway Jr., Davis Bertans and JaVale McGee in hopes of adding a player that can help them immediately.

The Mavericks enter an offseason in which they hope to re-sign Kyrie Irving and improve their roster around Luka Doncic after missing the playoffs.

The level of interest from the Dallas Mavericks in trading for Deandre Ayton has been "overstated at this point," sources tell Marc Stein.

The Phoenix Suns are expected to "aggressively shop" Ayton this offseason.

Ayton signed a four-year, $133 million offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers last offseason that the Suns matched. Ayton has $102 million remaining on his contract over three seasons.

"I don’t get any sense at this juncture that Ayton is Dallas’ top trade target," added Stein.

The Dallas Mavericks stuck at the tenth pick of the first-round at the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery. That was fortunate, because a slide of even one pick would have sent that selection to the New York Knicks.

Now, the Mavericks are expected to evaluate options to trade that pick. Dallas is looking for win-now talent to put alongside Luka Doncic, and a potentially re-signed Kyrie Irving.

The Mavs still are tied to the Knicks for a future first. Dallas has two more years (2024 and 2025) of top-10 protections. If they should not deliver a pick either year, the Mavericks will send the Knicks a single 2025 second-round pick. This pick is the last one that Dallas owes to New York from the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

The Dallas Mavericks have concerns within their franchise that Luka Doncic could request a trade as early as the 2024 offseason, which would alter the league given his age and status as one of the top-5 players in the NBA.

The Utah Jazz have accumulated a surplus of draft picks over the past year with their trades of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, which could put them in position to assemble one of the more compelling offers to the Mavericks while also leaving enough of a supporting cast around Doncic to remain competitive. The Jazz could likely outbid almost any team for Doncic.

"With my spies telling me that Utah in particular is keeping a very interested eye on Doncic’s situation, even the Nets’ kitchen-sink offer for Doncic — the four firsts from Phoenix and one from Philly, plus whatever matching salary not named Bridges is needed to make the deal work — likely falls massively short," wrote John Hollinger at The Athletic. 

If Doncic were to seek an exit from the Mavericks, it has yet to be seen which teams he would prefer a trade to. 

The NBA announced that the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves will play in the 2023 Abu Dhabi Games. The Mavs and Wolves will meet in preseason matchups on October 5 and October 7 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks played a pair of preseason games in the Arabian Gulf ahead of this past regular season. The NBA and Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi have entered a multiyear collaboration to increase the NBA's visibility in the United Arab Emirates.