Amid speculation surrounding Kyrie Irving’s future, The Athletic’s Sam Amick believes that the 34-year-old will likely remain with the Dallas Mavericks through the Feb. 11 trade deadline.

The NBA insider made that call Friday, one day after the Mavericks’ blowout loss in Minnesota, even while reporting that rival teams continue to rank Irving first among the players who could reshape the playoff race.

Why Insider Sees Kyrie Irving Staying With the Dallas Mavericks

Amick built his case around what is working in Dallas rather than around any one suitor. Miami has been reported as a team monitoring Irving, while Houston has also been floated as a possible fit if Dallas ever makes him available.

Amick led his latest trade-watch column with Irving, roughly three months before the deadline, and he did not skip past the lopsided result from the night before.

“Kyrie Irving may not be traded before the deadline, what with the Mavericks (7-5) looking better than expected and their 34-year-old point guard fitting in so well alongside their young franchise centerpiece, 19-year-old Cooper Flagg.”

Amick pointed to the larger sample. By his count, the Mavericks are 7-3 this season when Irving plays and have lost both games he missed. But Amick wrote that the start in Dallas has not changed how rival teams see Irving.

“Yet when you talk to rival teams about players who would truly change the playoff landscape if they were dealt, and who are widely expected to generate serious interest because of that belief, Irving still tops the list. Never mind that the Mavericks, and Irving for that matter, have shown no signs of wanting a split. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

Irving’s contract helps explain why the interest persists. He holds a $42.4 million player option for next season and can become a free agent this summer if he declines it. “The lack of a long-term deal between the Mavs and Irving, all by itself, justifies the outside interest,” Amick wrote.

So does his form. Irving missed all of last season after tearing his left ACL in early March 2025, and Amick noted that “the fact that Irving still looks like Irving, after all he has been through, has only added to the intrigue.”

Asked about the rumors Monday, Irving told reporters, “I let the team know out of my own mouth that these trade rumors, anything that’s going on with me, do not let this infiltrate our locker room. Don’t let this get in the way of what we have building here.”

Amick also explained why Dallas wants to get the most out of Irving. The Mavericks do not have outright control of their own first-round pick until 2031, which he wrote leaves them “otherwise limited in ways to surround Flagg with talent.”

But Amick tied his forecast to how Dallas plays. “Things can always change, of course. But the odds of Irving being traded are likely notably less – if not nonexistent – if these Mavericks manage to play winning basketball,” he wrote.

Even a quiet deadline would not settle Irving’s future in Dallas, because his player option leaves the next decision with him this summer. The Mavericks, meanwhile, sit 10th in the Western Conference at 7-5 after Thursday’s loss.