Despite Mavs’ Struggles, Kyrie Irving Says Trade Was For ‘Long Term’
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When the Dallas Mavericks traded for star point guard Kyrie Irving, many believed the move was a huge risk, considering that he was just a few months away from being an unrestricted free agent.
Despite the Mavs not being able to make things gel immediately on the court, they’ve apparently done enough off the court to mitigate the risk of Irving leaving. After Wednesday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, he expressed why he’s ‘at peace’ with whatever happens in this season’s final five games.
"It's been a scramble since I've been here,” said Irving, who had never been a part of a mid-season trade until this year. “So, trying to fill in roles that kind of fill in for other people. And I think the realistic view is that when I came here, that this was going to be a growing process.”
Irving and the Mavericks would have loved for his time in Dallas to get off to a better start in the win-loss column than it has, but looking forward, the biggest thing is Irving’s comfortably level with the franchise and the Mavs front office retooling the roster around him and Luka Doncic this summer.
"This was for the long term, and this was for something that's bigger than ourselves and we can't just be a championship team overnight,” Irving said.
“So I think I've wrapped my head around that aspect of it. I'm at peace with it. It doesn't mean that I'm giving up on this season or any of my teammates are, but we know where we realistically are and our destiny is in some other team's hands losing games.”
The Mavs are one game back of the Western Conference’s final play-in tournament spot with five games remaining, so there’s still hope, but the clock is ticking.
"We just have to control what we can control and focus on the next few possessions that we have in these next games against some really good teams that want to position themselves for the playoffs,” Irving said.
“We're fighting for a spot, so I'm looking forward to the challenge.”
If the Mavs fail to make the postseason, all eyes will turn to the NBA Draft Lottery on May 16 before free agency happens in late June. If the Mavs end up with a top-10 pick, they get to keep it. If it’s out of the top 10, it will convey to the New York Knicks in order to complete the Kristaps Porzingis trade from 2019.
Irving’s on-court fit with Doncic has been great when the two have shared the floor together … at least offensively. In 336 minutes, the duo has an offensive rating of 119.3, but the defensive rating is just 116.7.
Obtaining a co-star for Doncic at this year’s trade deadline meant sacrificing two starters in Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith, who was the team’s best overall defender and ‘directed traffic’ on that end. Dallas’ lack of size on defense has been the biggest issue for its slide in the standings, and it’ll be up to owner Mark Cuban and GM Nico Harrison to fill in those holes in an offseason that’s potentially coming sooner than anyone expected.
Regardless, Irving seems to be preparing for the long haul in Dallas. We’ll see if those sentiments sustain over the next few months.
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