Just months after making an all-in move for Kyrie Irving, the Dallas Mavericks are sitting at home as the NBA playoffs begin without them. To say it’s been a disappointing season for Dallas would be an understatement, but now their focus must shift to the summer and ensuring they do everything they can to re-sign Kyrie Irving.
While Irving ducked the team’s media day this month, they are reportedly still feeling good about their odds to keep him around for the long haul.
“They feel really good about their chances of keeping Kyrie Irving,” Shelburne said. “When they traded for him, they had an option, obviously, to sign him for a two-year extension. He wants more than two years. … Kyrie wants four. So, it may come down to whether or not they’re willing to go to that fourth year but if he has leverage outside the Mavericks, they may have to go further than they initially want to go. He has quite a bit of leverage because quite frankly, they cannot lose him. They already lost Jalen Brunson for nothing. They cannot lose Kyrie Irving for nothing.”
The future is uncertain for the Mavs headed into the offseason 😬
"They cannot lose [Kyrie Irving] … They have a lot of work to do to keep Luka Doncic in the fold, happy, building off what they did." —@ramonashelburne pic.twitter.com/xQeZ1xCHnq
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 10, 2023
At this point, it’s impossible to predict Kyrie’s actions with any certainty. After leaving the Nets mid-season, he made it clear that money was a top priority for him heading into the summer and if the Mavericks are willing to meet his demands, it could be all that needs to happen for him to happily re-join the squad.
Luka Doncic’s Future In Doubt Amid Summer Of Uncertainty
If the Mavs fail to improve their situation in the offseason, it could have even bigger implications for their relationship with Luka. Like many other superstars of his stature, Doncic could try and force his hand amid the franchise’s poor decision-making.
But as one NBA insider put it, Luka doesn’t have the strength to force a trade the same way that Ben Simmons did with the 76ers.
“The Mavericks are not going there, and everyone knows it,” a Western Conference executive said. “There is just no way. The only way he can force a trade is to sit out like Ben Simmons did and anyone who knows anything about Luka knows he is not going to do that. There’s just no way.”
We will see soon enough how this plays out for the Mavericks, but it’s fair to say that things have not gone according to plan for them so far.
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