An ACL tear on average can take 10-12 months to heal after surgery, though it's already been reported that the Mavericks are optimistic Irving could return by January of next season, which would be 10 months from when he sustained the injury. Mavs coach Jason Kidd echoed that report Monday while appearing on the DLLS Mavericks podcast, too.

The prospect of adding Flagg brings hope for a new timeline that helps the Mavericks in both the present and future.

The Dallas Mavericks are heading into the 2025-26 NBA season with sky-high excitement. After arguably the three worst months in franchise history, during which the franchise took the unpopular decision of trading Luka Doncic, they were handed a billion-dollar lifeboat with Cooper Flagg.