Kyrie Irving Mavericks debut: Will Kyrie Irving play against the Jazz?

The basketball world is still is buzzing with the news of Dallas’ trade to bring Kyrie Irving to Dallas. The move positions Kyrie with another one of the top superstars in the league as he prepares to team up with Luka Doncic in Big D, but when will we see them on the floor together?

The Deal

The Mavericks gave up quite a bit to bring in one of the best point guards in the game. Mark Cuban has had his eyes set on a headline midseason move for a while and jumped at the chance to bring in Kyrie Irving to Big D. It’s no surprise that Dallas had to give up quite a bit to bring in the former Cavalier, Celtic and now Brooklyn Net. Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith were a couple of reliable second scoring options when the ball is out of Doncic’s hands, but now they are on their way to the Big Apple along with three future draft picks while Markieff Morris heads south with Irving.

There are procedures that must be followed once a trade is finalized like physicals and health checks. Irving will worry about the semantics of the move from the Big Apple to Big D at another time, but for now the top priority is getting their newest acquisition on the floor as soon as possible for a team that has been sliding down the standings for the last since the start of the calendar year.

When will Kyrie debut?

Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Irving would touchdown in Dallas on Monday for his physical. The Mavericks are currently in the midst of a five game road trip, and tonight they will tip of against the Jazz in Salt Lake, City. It’s unlikely that he will get to Dallas for his physical and then jet set north to Utah for the game tonight, but if we look at the Mavs calendar there are some juicy games coming up.

On Wednesday night, Dallas heads to the Crypto.com Arena to take on the LA Clippers who are a direct rival of the Mavs when you take a look at the standings in the Western Conference. Kyrie is no stranger to the spotlight and you could almost bet that he will be on the floor in LA to make his debut.

If for whatever reason he is not ready to play, or if coach Jason Kidd wants to wait then he could debut in a back-to-back series against the Kings in Sacramento. The poetic thing to do would be wait until the Mavs get back to Texas to play Minnesota at American Airlines Center, but there is no time to be poetic for a team that has been sliding down the conference standings.

Doncic out with heel injury

Another thing to take into account is the absence of Luka Doncic who was injured against the the Pelicans last week, and is scheduled to miss at least a few more games as he nurses a heel contusion back to health.

Doncic was not ruled out of the entire five game road trip, so we could see him back as soon as Wednesday for Kyrie’s debut. One thing is for sure, the Mavs will want to have Doncic and Irving get a few games under their belt before the All-Star Break in less than two weeks time.