Kyrie Irving is one of the best players in the NBA but comes with baggage.

NBA writer Mark Medina has told GiveMeSport that the guard's free agent market won't be as demanding as some think - and he may not end up back with the Dallas Mavericks.

Irving asked for a trade out of Brooklyn last season and was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks. Although Irving had some success down in Texas, Dallas missed the playoffs, so it's uncertain if they will try and re-sign the 31-year-old.

Dallas Mavericks unlikely to re-sign Irving on long-term deal

If Dallas does decide not to re-sign Kyrie Irving, Mark Medina believes his free agent market won't be a strong one.

"What his market's going to be moving forward, maybe Dallas still wants to sign him - but I would be very skeptical it's on a long-term deal," Medina said to GiveMeSport.

"Assuming that he's in the open market, I think it's going to be similar to last year when he was trying to get out of Brooklyn, that a lot of teams were saying 'thanks, but no thanks'."

Irving's troubling past

When Kyrie Irving is on the court, he is one of the best players in the NBA, but having him on the court and motivated to play is a big issue.

In July 2017, Irving requested a trade from Cleveland and a month later joined the Boston Celtics. He then left Boston in the summer of 2019 to sign with the Brooklyn Nets. Yet, after dealing with injuries and sitting out games due to the COVID mandate, he once again asked for a trade and was dealt to the Mavericks.

With Dallas, Irving averaged 27 points and six assists per game, showing he still is an All-Star level guard. Yet, staying on the court has been an issue as since 2016-17 - his final season in Cleveland - Irving has yet to play more than 67 games, with him averaging just 48.3 games per season.

If NBA teams are going to sign Irving to the massive contract that he wants, keeping him on the court will be a challenge in itself.

Teams may decide that a player who took home $36.5m last season may not be worth it over someone with perhaps less natural ability but far more reliability.