With Kyrie sidelined, Dallas faces a critical point guard void, necessitating a summer search for a new floor general or draft-day gamble.
The Dallas Mavericks are not going to be able to contend for a title this season, but they are going to do everything in their power the rest of the year, as well as the offseason, to put themselves in a position to succeed going forward.
And one of the most important things that they might need to do is address their backcourt play.
In a recent article by Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz, he picks what he thinks is each NBA team's biggest weakness that could haunt them the rest of the year. For Dallas, he thinks that weakness is at the point guard position.
"Finding someone who can dribble and pass has been a real issue all season for the Dallas Mavericks," Swartz writes. "Kyrie Irving is officially set to miss the entire year with a torn ACL, meaning the next month will continue to be a struggle to create offense... Cooper Flagg is a good ball-hander for his position, but he's not a point guard... The Mavs need to go point guard hunting this summer and will have a good lottery pick to use."
Irving could very well wish to stay with the team whenever he comes back from his ACL tear, but the issue with needing a long-term answer at the point guard still remains.
The nine-time All-Star will turn 34 years old in just under two weeks on March 23, which means that he is entering the twilight of his career. He has shown the last several seasons that he is still elite when he is on the floor, but the time of him being able to perform at that high of a level might be dwindling.
As a result, the team could go looking for a point guard in free agency to pair alongside Cooper Flagg. But perhaps the more appealing option is to continue to build through the draft and take a young guard in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft.
The Mavericks are currently in 12th place in the Western Conference with a 22-44 record, which means that they will most likely have a pretty solid pick in this year's draft. And in a very talented class, the Mavs could find their point guards of the future.
So while Kyrie may very well have a handful of seasons left playing at the level Dallas needs him to, it could be time for the team to start looking for his eventual replacement.