Kyrie Irving Drops Major Update on Mavs Future While Cooper Flagg Gets Taller Than Before

Speculation about Kyrie Irving's long-term fit in Dallas has been building for months. ESPN's Tim MacMahon noted recently that the league was watching closely, given the gap between a 33-year-old Irving working back from a torn ACL and a 19-year-old Cooper Flagg the franchise is building around.

At Mavericks Media Day, Irving addressed that question for the first time, and Flagg gave reporters a very different kind of update of his own.

Asked whether he wants to finish his career in Dallas, Irving didn't offer a simple yes.

"I wish a lot of that was under my control, but I think it's a collaborative effort here," he said, acknowledging that his future involves more than just his own preference.

Irving also pushed back on the idea that the age gap between him and Flagg was a ticking clock working against their partnership.

"There is a disparity in age, everyone likes to make a big deal out of it," he said, before turning to the team's actual goals for the season. "We're trying to win. Nobody here is just trying to throw the season away and say we have no expectations. We have high expectations for ourselves. It's a figuring out process."

Irving is fully recovered from the ACL tear that wiped out his 2025-26 season. He has been focused on returning healthy and available, even pushing the Mavericks to build out an upgraded recovery facility as part of that process.

His comments suggested that he's approaching this season with real intent to make the pairing work rather than treating it as a placeholder before a possible trade-deadline move.

Cooper Flagg Brings His Own Update to Media Day

While Irving addressed his future in Dallas, Flagg had reporters focused on something different - his height. Flagg confirmed he's grown since his Rookie of the Year campaign, going from a listed 6-foot-9 last season to an official barefoot measurement of 6-foot-10 taken the day before media day.

"I'm 6-10, with no shoes," Flagg said. "I was like 6-9 last year, so definitely taller," adding jokingly that he might be pushing 6-foot-11 with shoes on.

Taken together, the two updates capture where the Mavericks currently stand. A veteran star choosing his words carefully about a long-term commitment that isn't fully in his hands, and a teenage cornerstone who's still, quite literally, growing into his role.