The Dallas Mavericks made a huge move this month when they traded for controversial Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving. The move immediately bolstered the Mavs roster and solidified their status as a title contender this year. But the downside is that Irving is set to become a free agent this month. And it doesn’t sound like he’s committed to staying with the team.
When Kyrie Irving was asked about his long-term future with the Mavericks this week, he certainly did not make any commitments. In fact, it sounds like he does not know what his future plans are.
“I would love to just have the respect of you guys and everybody the rest of the season of just — continuously asking me that just puts unwarranted distractions on us and our team,” Irving said as transcribed by Bro Bible. “I’ve dealt with it before and it’s very emotionally draining to ask questions like ‘what’s the long term? What’s the long term? What is it?’
“I will say, from the start of when I came here, there’s been nothing but a warm embrace, nothing but genuine love and nothing but a familiarity of relationships that I could really look to in times of questioning or confusion. I could always go to these guys or ladies in our front office or people that have really made themselves available since I landed in Dallas.
“There’s just a positive note there and just taking it one day at a time. That’s all I can do in this life and what the future holds is really only gonna be dictated on what I do right now and how I prepare for those next steps. And that’s being the best teammate that I can in the locker room, being a great leader out here within the Dallas community, within the NBA and just continuing to be myself and develop. Just putting that to bed and focusing on what we have ahead as a team.”
While Irving will certainly help the Mavs this year, these comments are at least a little bit concerning.
