(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
The Dallas Mavericks likely thought they had become legitimate championship contenders when they traded for star guard Kyrie Irving about two months ago.
At the time, they seemed to be a lock to make the NBA playoffs and were likely going to bypass the play-in tournament by finishing with one of the six best records in the Western Conference.
But since Irving’s arrival, the Mavs have played very poorly, and they will not participate in even the play-in tournament this season.
They will have some difficult decisions to make this summer, and it will all start with Irving’s impending free agency.
Head coach Jason Kidd told the media that he would likely bet on Irving remaining in Dallas, although he didn’t sound extremely confident about that statement.
“If I was a betting man, I guess I would say he would be back. Why would I say he wouldn’t?”
Mavs coach Jason Kidd on Kyrie Irvingpic.twitter.com/DFZ3GCK3so
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 8, 2023
There is no doubt that the New Jersey native is one of the game’s most skilled guards, and he is widely considered the greatest ball-handler in the history of pro basketball.
He averaged 27.0 points and 6.0 assists in 20 games with the Mavs while shooting 51.0 percent overall and 39.2 percent from 3-point range, which are certainly elite numbers.
After demanding a trade in 2017, the Cleveland Cavaliers sent him to the Boston Celtics, and when he missed the playoffs with an injury, Boston seemed to do better without him, as it came within a quarter of reaching the NBA Finals.
The following season, Irving, who was set to become a free agent in the summer of 2019, refused to commit to a future with the Celtics, and he ended up joining Kevin Durant on the Brooklyn Nets.
But the Nets’ superteam experiment was a big failure, and so have the Mavs’ attempts to experiment with Irving this season.
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