The Dallas Mavericks took a big risk when they acquired Kyrie Irving at the NBA Trade Deadline.
With Irving set to become a free agent this summer, and given his precarious temperament, there was no guarantee that Mark Cuban and Co. weren’t just renting the former champ.
This week, a bit of clarity on Irving’s future plans emerged.
Specifically, who his preferred NBA team for next season actually is.
“The rumbles have been that [Kyrie] wants to stay [in Dallas],” NBA insider Marc Stein reported.
That said, it is also worth noting that Stein’s podcasting partner, Bleacher Report NBA insider Chris Haynes, recently struck a different note.
Irving will “allow his future to be decided in free agency this summer,” Haynes wrote this week.
Even if Irving is going into this summer with an open mind, though – nobody can give him as much money as Dallas. The question is just whether the front office will be willing to do so, particularly given how stingy they were with Jalen Brunson last year.
And while Brunson has led his New York Knicks to a top-five finish in the East, the Mavs look like they will miss the playoffs altogether.
“The early signals emanating from Mavsland suggest that a multi-year deal for Irving is certainly feasible, but the general uncertainty stemming from his free agent-to-be status creates a layer of pressure felt at all levels by Dallas,” Stein wrote in his newsletter this week.
The Mavericks presently find themselves in an interesting situation. Luka Doncic is regarding the current season as a failed year. Irving has been quite open about not being on the same page as his superstar teammate.
It hasn’t been an ideal fit.
And yet the Mavericks don’t have a ton of options.
Irving is moody enough to where, if he doesn’t get exactly what he wants from the front office, he will leave. If that does happen, then Dallas gave away quality players for no reason at all at the NBA Trade Deadline.
If Irving truly wants to return to the Mavericks this summer, then that may make a long-term deal a little easier. At the same time, it feels like nothing with him is ever easy.
Will Irving and the Mavs get on the same page this offseason? Time will tell.
