Kyrie Irving has played one game for the Mavericks and Kevin Durant hasn’t yet suited up for the Suns. But there is already speculation about a reunion.
Irving, who spoke candidly about how happy he was that Durant “escaped” the Nets, says he is “ecstatic” to play for Dallas. But we’ve heard the story from Irving before and it hasn’t always ended well.
The Mavs were never Irving’s preferred destination, and while the front office gave up a lot to trade for him, the guard is on an expiring contract and becomes a free agent at the end of the season.
That means that Irving could potentially end up somewhere else next season, and it might even be an option for him to join Durant in Phoenix.
NBA insider Brian Windhorst pointed out the realistic possibility (via ESPN):
“Well, first off, I’d like to just point out that Kyrie and James Harden are free agents in the summer. So if you think this is over, it ain’t over. Kyrie was really interested in being in Phoenix. So just start thinking about that. But let’s put that off to the side.”
While the Suns have a formidable starting lineup, Suns point guard Chris Paul will turn 38 years old before next season begins. He is averaging a career-low 13.6 points per game and he has struggled to stay healthy enough to remain on the floor for prolonged periods.
As such, according to league insider Marc Stein, the “word is” that this has caused the Suns to “start assessing” what their future looks like once he is no longer their point guard.
Here are the top candidates to replace Chris Paul as the next point guard of the Suns. https://t.co/yEGX5BrXHu #WeAreTheValley
— For The Win (@ForTheWin) January 24, 2023
We speculated about some of the long-term replacement candidates for CP3, but Irving is actually a more realistic possibility than we initially anticipated.
This would give the Suns a core of Irving-Booker-Durant in a post-CP3 era.
Phoenix won’t have the cap space to sign Irving, but there is a real shot that they could make it work in a sign-and-trade involving former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton — who potentially had beef with Suns head coach Monty Williams.
The center nearly left the Suns when he agreed to an offer sheet with the Pacers last offseason, and according to Tim MacMahon, the big man is a rumored target for Dallas (via ESPN):
“He’s a name that I’ve heard around the Mavericks. And again, I think that would have to be a later than right now type of situation.”
If there are concerns about how two iso-oriented players like Irving and Luka Doncic will share the ball, that would go out the window with Ayton.
Here is what I wrote about Ayton when he nearly joined forces with Tyrese Haliburton in the offseason:
“The former No. 1 overall pick averaged a league-best 4.6 points per game when rolling to the basket in pick and roll sets, per Synergy. When including the regular season and the playoffs, in fact, the big man was the only player who scored at least 300 points on these possessions.
After his midseason trade to the Pacers, meanwhile, ball screens in which Haliburton passed to a teammate rolling into the post resulted in 6.1 points per game. That is the same amount as Luka Doncic.”
Ayton would be a dominant pick-and-roll partner for Doncic if the two former 2018 NBA Draft lottery picks ever played alongside one another.
