On April 10, Beijing time, the Lone Ranger was out of the game and ushered in the holiday ahead of schedule. The team that reached the Western Conference last season has not even stepped into the door of the play-offs, and is undoubtedly the most disappointed team this season. And now they have a big problem with how to renew Irving, which is interpreted by salary expert Bobby Marks.
This summer, the Mavericks have as many as eight free agents, of which Irving is naturally the team's number one free agent. For the Lone Ranger, the most important task of the offseason is to improve defense, which was 23rd in the league before the Irving trade and 26th in the league after the trade.
Therefore, lineup adjustments are imperative, and most of these 8 free agents will probably leave the team. However, there is not much room for the Lone Rangers to strengthen the roster, because once Irving remains, the team has little salary space left, and they only have veteran contracts and middle-class exceptions to use. Deals are another viable option, such as cleaning up contracts with Hardaway Jr., Bertans or Kléber.
In addition to reinforcements, the number one task for the Lone Rangers in the offseason is to renew Irving. Irving is eligible for a five-year, $272 million maximum salary extension.
There is no doubt that Irving is a top-paid player, but the question is how long will this maximum-salary contract last? Irving has played no more than 65 games in four consecutive seasons, and considering that Doncic will become a free agent in 2026, Irving's contract extension cannot exceed 3 years.
This brings up another problem, which is that giving other interested Irving teams a chance, the Lakers may not have salary space, but the Pacers, Spurs, Rockets and Magic have plenty of room and they lack a super point guard who can help the team rebuild. Irving will choose to go to other teams and take less money. It's just that the Lone Ranger will be willing to let Brunson and Owen leave one after another for nothing in a row, and end up with nothing?