Kyrie Irving's Mavs To Take Cautious Roster Approach to China Preseason Games

The NBA comes to China once a year, and the buildup is enormous. Fan events, youth clinics, a shoe launch tied to Kyrie Irving's ANTA line, two teams flown halfway around the world to The Venetian Arena and a market of fans who rarely get to see these players in person.

Those fans are going to see considerably less than they hoped.

Dusty May told reporters after Thursday's open practice in Macao that Dallas plans to field a limited roster for both preseason games against Houston, according to Christian Clark of The Athletic. A full availability report will come before tipoff Friday.

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The headline piece of that is Irving. Per Clark, May confirmed the guard will play in only one of the two games, though he did not say which.

That still counts as significant news. Whichever game Irving suits up for will be his first live action since March 3, 2025, when he tore the ACL in his left knee on a drive against Sacramento. The wait has stretched more than 19 months, and it was extended further by a previously undisclosed calf strain that set him back during the rehab process.

Irving arrived at training camp without restrictions and was cleared to play in Macao without limitations. Managing his workload across back-to-back exhibitions roughly 36 hours apart is simply prudent for a 34-year-old coming off that kind of injury.

The rest of the limited roster traces back to a frontcourt that has been banged up since camp opened.

Santi Aldama has been restricted throughout, still working back from an arthroscopic procedure and injection on his right knee in March. He has described his progress as trending positively, but he has not been a full participant.

Morez Johnson Jr. dealt with lower leg soreness that limited him through the early portion of camp. The No. 9 overall pick has steadily ramped up, playing significant 5-on-5 in recent practices, and Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News reported he is expected to play Friday. Johnson appeared in only two Las Vegas Summer League games before being shut down with left calf soreness and an illness, though he averaged 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 3.0 blocks in that brief look.

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Dereck Lively II remains the longest-running absence. He is still recovering from December surgery on his right foot and has been limited since camp began.

That leaves Daniel Gafford and Moussa Cisse as the two big men who have been consistently healthy, which explains why Dallas may be cautious about how it distributes frontcourt minutes across two games in three days on the other side of the world.

None of this is alarming for a preseason trip. Teams routinely hold players out of exhibitions, and the travel involved in these China games makes caution more sensible than usual.