Kyrie Irving Out for the Season: Mavericks Fantasy Basketball Options | Spencer Dinwiddie, Dante Exum, Max Christie, Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and More

It's been a tough month or so for the Dallas Mavericks.

The team made a surprise trade, sending out Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis that really upset the team's fans. Davis got injured in the first game with the Mavs and we haven't seen him play since.

Now, star guard Kyrie Irving has been lost for the season.

Let's discuss what Irving delivered this season, then how this will alter things for the Mavs (both in the real world and in fantasy).

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Irving's Numbers

In 50 games this season, Irving averaged 36.1 minutes a contest.

He also averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.5 blocks. Irving shot 47.3% from the floor, 40.1% from 3-point land and 91.6% from the line.

Irving is one of the better guards in the NBA, and is one of the top fantasy players in the league. He was ranked 34th on the Fantasy Basketball Trade Value Chart before the injury.

Irving can be dropped in all redraft leagues. You of course want to hang on to him in keeper/dynasty leagues. He's still only 32 years old, so even after returning from a torn ACL, Irving should have a few more big seasons in him.

The only way to really replace a fantasy player like Irving is to trade for another star. See if you can maybe package a couple depth pieces to land another fantasy player similar to Irving.

Mavericks Outlook

This is a massive blow to the Mavericks, who are sitting in 10th place in the Western Conference. They'd probably need Davis to return soon in order to have a chance to sneak into the postseason now.

Spencer Dinwiddie is likely going to take over as the starting point guard. Jaden Hardy is a backup point guard, but also sprained his ankle on Monday. 

Dante Exum should get more minutes now, and maybe start at shooting guard. Newcomer Max Christie will get more run and usage now, even if he's coming off the bench behind Exum. 

Klay Thompson will remain in the starting lineup as the small forward, and likely take on more scoring with Irving out. Naji Marshall is a backup option at that spot.

P.J. Washington is working back from an injury of his own, but could get a nice boost in minutes and usage when he's cleared. Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Kessler Edwards are a couple more power forward options until Davis is ready to go.

Dwight Powell could get some more starts at center as the Mavs look to tread water. Washington and Kai Jones are other options at the position while Davis works his way back.

Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford will eventually help out at power forward and center, but they are still not all that close to returning yet. Caleb Martin could be another forward option when he's cleared from his injury.

Brandon Williams is another player on the active roster who could see an uptick in minutes after the Irving injury. 

I'd be pretty surprised if the Mavs don't add another player in the near future. After the injury to Irving, you'd think it'd be a guard, but they also need help at forward/center, so that could be the position that's added.

Fantasy Impact

Thompson should get a slight fantasy upgrade after the injury to Irving. He's owned in 87% of leagues already. I don't think the injury will vault him to 100%, but I do expect it to go over 90 and steadily rise if his averages increase a bit.

Christie is at 56% rostered, and I'd expect that to move over 60% in the coming days. He'll need to put up consistent numbers to be a standard league option the rest of the season.

Dinwiddie is at 26% and probably will see the biggest increase in own percentage of Mavs after the Irving injury. He's just a deep-league option for now, but could become a standard league threat in a hurry.

Exum is at just 5% rostered and should also get a pretty big boost. He's probably going to top out as a deep-league option, but he's at least worth monitoring over the next few games.

Washington is available in 5% of leagues. He'll be at 100% rostered when he's back on the court again, so watch the injury report and make that pickup when he's active again.

Marshall is at 30% owned. I expect that to go up, but think it will top out at around 50% the rest of the season. I'm saying he'll end up as a deep-league option only after the injury.

Martin is at 7% owned, and that should rise quite a bit when he's cleared for play.

Of course, Davis is already owned in all fantasy leagues. He'll be the fantasy star for Dallas when/if he returns to the court.

Gafford is at 57% rostered, while Lively is at 40%. Both guys should see decent jumps in their own percentage when they are back on the court.

FantasySP will keep a close eye on the team's box scores over the next few days to see who is stepping up and maybe worth adding, so keep checking back!