The Dallas Mavericks traded for controversial star Kyrie Irving at the NBA Trade Deadline to show the league they were ready to compete for a title this season.
That didn’t exactly come to fruition, as the Mavericks instead spent the last two weeks tanking at the behest of franchise governor Mark Cuban.
“Team sources have acknowledged to ESPN that fear exists that Doncic, who publicly and privately expressed extreme frustration this season, could consider requesting a trade as soon as the summer of 2024 if Dallas doesn’t make significant progress by then,” Tim McMahon of ESPN wrote this week about the situation.
Cuban recently spoke on the thorny issue and confirmed that Doncic would like to remain with the franchise that drafted him, but admitted the Mavericks still had some work to do in that area.
“He’d like to be here the whole time,” Cuban told reporters. “But we’ve got to earn that.”
Coach Jason Kidd echoed similar sentiments after a loss to the Chicago Bulls.
“Decisions sometimes are hard in this business, and you have to make hard decisions. We’re trying to build a championship team, and sometimes you gotta take a step back.
“Understanding with this decision, this is maybe a step back, but hopefully it leads to going forward.”
We will have to wait and see if Doncic requests a trade or sticks with the Mavericks.
[ESPN]
