Kyrie Irving Out a Week or Two | Fantasy Basketball Outlooks for Mavericks' Klay Thompson, Spencer Dinwiddie, Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall, Jaden Hardy and More

The Dallas Mavericks are already down Luka Doncic, and now will be without their other star player after it was announced Kyrie Irving would miss a week or two.

It’s not a super long injury, but with Irving being such a big fantasy asset, it’s worth looking at the Mavericks’ available players over the next couple weeks.

For the latest player updates, be sure to head to FantasySP to utilize the real-time player news engine for all sports. The player news engine is the most robust and fastest player news system in fantasy sports. Signing up for a FantasySP membership can help you track all your fantasy players.

Irving’s Season Stats

In 30 games and across 35.6 minutes a game so far, Irving is averaging 24.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.4 blocks a game. 

Irving is shooting 49% overall and 44.1% from 3-point land. He’s 89.9% at the free throw line.

Irving ranks 25th on the FantasySP Trade Value Chart, while Doncic is fourth.

It’s almost impossible to replace that kind of production with one player, and with Doncic still out for a while, the Mavericks will need several players to step up in order to not fall apart.

Remaining Mavericks

Daniel Gafford, Spencer Dinwiddie, Quentin Grimes, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Dwight Powell, Dereck Lively II, Jaden Hardy and Naji Marshall have played over 25 games so far this season. Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Maxi Kleber are at 24 and 23 games played, respectively.

Jazian Gortman has appeared in 15 games and Kessler Edwards has played in 12.

Thompson has the best player rating on the Mavs outside Doncic and Irving. He’s rostered in 85.39% of leagues, and should see that number increase for the next couple games with both star players out. Thompson has been a go-to offense player in the past, and will likely be asked to carry the load until Irving is back.

I’d definitely add Thompson for the time being. He’s someone to start until Irving returns, and probably should stick in starting lineups until Doncic is back out there too.

Gafford is a big man, so the injuries to Doncic and Irving shouldn’t really affect him all that much in terms of playing time, but it does open up the chance to score and produce more as a fantasy player. 

He’s rostered in 81.96% of leagues, and probably should be starting in almost every league until at least Irving is back out there.

Washington and Lively are really close in terms of their fantasy player ratings. Washington is rostered in 88.81% of leagues, while Lively is at 76.48%. 

Washington is coming off a big game, but has had some inconsistent showings of late. I still like the idea of adding and/or starting him until Irving is back.

Lively’s stat lines have also been a bit inconsistent of late, but based on necessity, is a better fantasy asset over the next few games. He’s especially valuable if you need some rebounds - he won’t provide a lot of points, but he’ll shoot efficiently.

Marshall is rostered in less than 10% of fantasy leagues. He’s been suspended for the past few games for throwing a punch, but should be back on the court Monday. 

Marshall at least needs to be added in deeper leagues, and if he plays a bunch of minutes and produces on Monday, he could be a streaming option in standard leagues for a few games.

Grimes was part of my waiver wire story on Monday, and the injury to Irving is only going to boost his fantasy value and own percentage. He’s producing of late, and will continue to get a bunch of shot attempts without the two stars around. 

Grimes should be instantly added in all deep leagues, and he’s a good streaming option in standard leagues for the foreseeable future, not just for when Irving is out.

Dinwiddie was part of the week 12 drop candidate story, but the Irving injury news now means he will see his own percentage go back up, most likely. He’s struggled over the past two games, but had been in a pretty good groove before that.

On volume alone, Dinwiddie should be a good fantasy option until Irving returns. Add him in deeper leagues, and consider him in standard leagues if you need a fill in for a couple days.

Powell hasn’t been playing much of late, but despite being a big man, the injury to Irving could get him back into the mix again. He’s just a fantasy option in the deepest of leagues, but he’s worth watching in case he plays a bunch of minutes on Monday - he’d need to produce a good amount for him to be picked up.

Hardy has played between 17-25 minutes in each of the past four games. I’d expect him to maybe play even more with Irving out. He’s just a deep-league option at this point, but might be worth adding and playing in some deeper leagues.

Prosper hasn’t gotten a ton of playing time after the Doncic injury, but the Irving injury might bump his minutes a bit more. He’s just an option in the deepest of leagues, but he’s worth watching in case this newest injury thrusts him into a more prominent role.

Kleber plays plenty of minutes, but simply doesn’t produce enough to be a big-time fantasy asset, even in deep leagues. Maybe the injury to Irving helps Kleber out, but I really doubt he’s a consistent fantasy asset.

Gortman is a point guard who hasn’t played much this season, but he might get some extra minutes out of necessity until Irving is back on the court. I’d need to see some extra minutes and production out of Gortman before making a move on him, even in the deepest of leagues.

Edwards is playing even less minutes than Gortman and is a forward, so he’s not as likely to see an increased role as Gortman. Like everyone else on the roster right now though, it’s worth watching Edwards to see if he steps into a big role for just a couple games.

Final Thoughts

The injury to Doncic was a major blow to the Mavericks, and the additional injury to Irving is another sucker punch.

Luckily, Irving isn’t expected to miss more than a couple weeks, but the team could really struggle to find wins until he’s back on the court. Regardless of how the team is playing though, someone has to cover minutes and take on some of Irving’s production, and that leads to fantasy value.

I expect the team’s main fantasy contributors (Thompson, Gafford, Washington, Lively) to carry the load. Grimes and Dinwiddie should be popular waiver wire targets over the next few games, while Marshall and Hardy might follow suit.

Kleber, Powell, Prosper, Gortman and Edwards are more deep-league options, but seem unlikely to step up and be legit fantasy options based on how they’ve played so far this season. 

Someone has to step up though, and the Mavericks might choose to get more guys involved in an effort to not overwork any players over the next couple weeks.

Keep checking the FantasySP Waiver Wire Pickups page and the team’s box scores to see which players might be worth adding and starting over the next few games. Hopefully Irving, and Doncic, get back out there soon, but in the meantime, look for several Mavs to step up.