Kyrie Irving is STAYING in Dallas! Controversial free agent ‘agrees to a massive $126m deal’

Kyrie Irving has reportedly agreed a $126million, three-year contract to remain with the Dallas Mavericks, ending talk of him exploring other options in free agency.

The controversial 2016 NBA champion arrived in Texas from the Brooklyn Nets in February, after requesting a trade, but the team fell short of the playoffs.

Irving had been linked with the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat and Houston Rockets among others in free agency, but he has opted to stick with the Mavericks.

His massive deal to stay in Dallas was negotiated by his stepmother Shetellia Riley Irving, who has become the first black woman to negotiate and complete an NBA contract, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Irving played 20 games with the Mavericks last season and was an unrestricted free agent, but he quickly removed himself from the market to rejoin Luka Doncic in Dallas.

Irving played 20 times for the Mavs last season after being traded out of Brooklyn in February

The agreement, reached in principle and not official until July 6, includes a third-year player option, according to ESPN.

Irving was eighth in the NBA in scoring last season, at 27.1 points per game, along with averaging 5.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds.

Due to injuries, Irving and Doncic were paired for just 16 games and fell out of the Western Conference playoff race by going 5-11 as a tandem. But Doncic referred to Irving as a great teammate, and general manager Nico Harrison felt strongly that Irving wanted to be back as soon as the season was over.

‘It’s a great fit,’ Doncic said at the end of last season. ‘Obviously, people are going to say no but … look at the results we are having. 

Luka Doncic was keen for Irving to stay in Dallas and he got his wish on Friday night

‘But, like I said, chemistry and relationships take time. I wish he could still be here. He’s a great player. He just wants peace, a great person.’

Irving, 31, demanded a trade from the Nets to force his way out of Brooklyn in February, which cost Dallas a 2029 first-round pick, multiple second-round picks, Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie.

Irving spent six seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted him first overall in 2011, was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2017 and bolted for Brooklyn as a free agent in 2019.

He averages 23.4 points, 5.7 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game in 671 career games over 12 seasons.