KYRIE IRVING CROUCHED, hands on his knees, in the right corner and watched Luka Doncic operate a high pick-and-roll. Irving was tired, having already logged 37 minutes in this game, his fourth since returning from a right heel contusion that sidelined him for 24 days.
The score was tied with a little more than two minutes remaining in the Dallas Mavericks’ Jan. 7 home game against the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves, who were determined not to let Doncic beat them.
The Wolves double-teamed Doncic, and he delivered a bounce pass to center Dwight Powell at the free throw line. As Powell caught the ball and with the defense rotating, Irving sprung into a shooter’s position, knowing the right read was to swing the ball his way.
Irving swished the catch-and-shoot corner 3, giving the Mavs the lead for good in arguably their most impressive win of the season. Powell got the assist; Doncic created the advantage.
It was the kind of moment the Mavericks’ front office envisioned when it made the trade for Irving in February 2023: two of the NBA’s premier offensive talents playing off each other.
It took some time for the combination to form clutch chemistry, and injuries have often interrupted the Mavs’ momentum since Irving’s arrival. But Dallas’ star duo is the primary reason the Mavs, who are in sixth place in the Western Conference standings with a 24-18 record, are considered a dangerous playoff matchup.
Irving didn’t choose Dallas as his destination after requesting a trade last February and, frankly, didn’t have any financially appealing alternatives before re-signing with the Mavericks over the summer. But he has found happiness with his fourth NBA franchise, feeling respected and supported by the organization.
There’s a sense of calm after his 2½-year stint with the Brooklyn Nets, which included so much chaos and controversy, much of Irving’s own making.
“I had to be mature enough to say I got to take accountability for my own actions,” Irving told ESPN. “I got to really walk and be the example that I want to see in the world. And that’s just being a good person to a lot of people, and not being so hard to reach and not be so isolated to where people can misjudge that as whatever it is. Like, ‘Oh, he doesn’t talk, or he is not really close with anybody. I don’t really know him that well.’ So I feel like a lot of people misjudged me. …
“Dallas gave me a chance to just focus on the main thing, which is being the best basketball player when I stepped foot here, and then off the court still support me.”
IT HAS BEEN less than a year since Irving’s Brooklyn partnership with Kevin Durant, which began with a free agency pact between the longtime friends, ended with disappointment and regret. That era in Nets history will be remembered as the supposed superteam that won a grand total of one playoff series and granted three trade requests.
Irving, Durant and James Harden — the last superstar to join those Nets and the first one to leave — played just 16 games together because of injuries and Irving’s refusal to comply with New York’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
It still stings Irving that their plan to win championship rings and retire together crumbled as his off-court sagas — specifically his anti-vaccine stance and his social media promotion of a movie that featured antisemitic tropes — disrupted the Nets’ past two seasons and destroyed his trust with Nets management.
But Irving’s breakup with the Nets presented an opportunity for the Mavericks. Dallas, light on trade assets, was desperate to acquire a co-star to pair with Doncic, eager to ease the pressure on the young face of the franchise. The availability of Irving, an eight-time All-Star with championship experience whose trade value had been deflated, provided the Mavs a chance to fill that glaring void.
Irving said he felt a sense of comfort in playing for Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who was one of his idols while growing up in New Jersey and had become a friend over the years. He also had a long-standing relationship with Dallas general manager Nico Harrison, a former Nike executive. Irving embraced the fresh start, with no guarantees of what might unfold in his summer free agency.
Be the first to comment