Getty Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks.
Things have not gone according to plan for the Dallas Mavericks this season. After making an impressive run to the Western Conference Finals last year, they have put themselves in a position where they may not even make the Play-In Tournament.
Dallas made a huge splash at the trade deadline, dealing for Kyrie Irving, but it hasn’t quite panned out. Irving recently spoke out about his experience with the Mavericks thus far, using an expletive to describe the situation so far.
“Just human nature, man,” Irving said of Dallas’ struggles and him fitting into a new situation via Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I’m getting traded to a new work environment, and it’s just a lot of newness. I’m trying to introduce myself to everybody, figure out, you know, who do guys go to on the team to confide in off the court? Who is our coaching staff as people? Upper management, who are they as people? What do they expect from me? The big question, why they traded for me? And, you know, what does it look like for the future? That’s the big question. What does our future look like? What does our future look like? I think that now, again, just where we are in the season, and where other teams are positioned already, it kind of looks like a bit of a clusterf***, to be honest with you, because we’re 37-40, and we’re trying to fight to get into the play-in game.”
The comments were made after Dallas’ loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. Irving played fairly well in the game, but it wasn’t enough to earn a win. He finished the night with 23 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor and 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
Luka Doncic Sounds Off on Jason Kidd
Meanwhile, Doncic also had some things to say after the game. With how poorly things have been going for the Mavericks as of late, Doncic revealed that he, Irving, and head coach Jason Kidd recently met to discuss the latest happenings.
“Just just playing with him. We met, too, with Jason,” Doncic said via NBA.com. “So, it was good. Us three. But this is the whole team, man. The whole team got to step it up a little bit. We still have chances. So, we shouldn’t give up yet.”
Jason Hardy Discusses Luka Doncic & Kyrie Irving
Not everything has been bad for Dallas since the Irving trade, though. Mavericks rookie Jaden Hardy recently spoke about how valuable they have been as teammates.
“Playing with [Luka and Kyrie], they both give me confidence,” Hardy said via the team’s YouTube channel. “Just always in my ear trying to help me. [I’m] asking them when I’m out there on the floor what they see, and them just telling me – it helps me when I’m out there.”
In turn, he mentioned a moment he shared with Irving during the Mavericks’ recent win over the Indiana Pacers.
“Tonight I was talking with Kyrie [when] we were in transition,” Hardy explained. “He was telling me, just like ‘be aware of the clock.’ And on the last play, he’s asking me did I see the clock and stuff like that. … He was just making sure I was aware of the timing.”