The Dallas Mavericks feel like a team in limbo following the firing of GM Nico Harrison.
They’ve got two timelines, the one that focuses on Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, and the one led by 18-year old Cooper Flagg.
What’s the path forward from here? No one really knows yet.
But at least they got some good news on Monday.
Irving, who has been out since a torn ACL in March, is making good progress.
“Kyrie’s looking good, he’s ahead of schedule,” Marc Spears reported on ESPN. “He’s working out with the purpose of playing this season.”
MORE: Cooper Flagg joins a list with LeBron and Kobe
The Mavs have definitely missed Kyrie.
They opened the season trying to have Flagg play point guard. Eventually, they realized that offseason signing D’Angelo Russell needed to be on the floor to allow Flagg to do the things he’s best at.
Dallas also lacks halfcourt shot creation, something that is one of Irving’s specialties.
There’s still no telling exactly when Irving gets back, or to what extent of full throttle he’ll be able to play at right away.
But the idea that Irving will return likely informs questions of whether or not to pursue an AD trade and how much responsibility to give to certain players in the meantime.
When the Mavericks acquired Davis last season, they pictured him playing alongside Irving. They never could’ve imagined getting Flagg, too. At some point this season, that trio might take the court together.
Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle