The Dallas Mavericks were expected to hit the ground running after trading for Kyrie Irving earlier this season. Irving’s new partnership with Luka Doncic should have made the Mavericks a favorite to win the NBA title.
However, the organization failed to even advance to the postseason. Now, there are rumors that Kai may not return to the team after becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer. An anonymous NBA executive told Heavy Sports that Irving has no future with the Mavericks.
“You get into a relationship with Kyrie at your own risk,” the executive said. “I don’t see how him and Luka work, never did. I guess Dallas felt it was worth a shot, but even now, it’s hard to see them getting the right pieces to put around them. I’m not sure you can. You’ve got two ball-dominant guys who neither one really knows how to play without the ball, and neither one knows how to defend. It’s not a winning situation.”
But is there a solution to the Mavericks’ current problems? Well, the executive believes bringing in two-way players should get the job done.
“If you want to win championships, you have to have two-way players. They don’t have two-way players. Neither one of those two guys want to sully themselves with the arduous task of playing defense on a night-in-night-out basis. So what happens is they don’t, and sooner or later, the other dudes say the hell with this.”
In his first season with the Dallas Mavericks, Kyrie Irving averaged 27.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, and 0.6 BPG. Irving’s stats are not an issue for the Mavs, but considering he is a ball-dominant player, Kai simply doesn’t fit well alongside Luka Doncic, who has a similar playing style.
The Dallas Mavericks Believe They Will Re-Sign Kyrie Irving
Knowing what’s going on inside Kyrie Irving’s mind is next to impossible. The veteran point guard has made erratic decisions throughout his career.
So, there is no surety that he will return to the Mavericks this summer. Despite that, the Mavs feel good about their chances of re-signing Irving.
“They feel really good about their chances of keeping Kyrie Irving. 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’ve already lost Jalen Brunson for nothing. They cannot lose Kyrie Irving for nothing.”
Irving is eligible to sign a 5-year $272 million extension with the Mavericks. Considering it’s a huge sum of money, it’s unlikely he will let go of it, but Kyrie’s unpredictable, and he may join another team.
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