Getty Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dallas Mavericks have put together one of the NBA’s most monumental collapses of all time over the last month-and-a-half. They’ve slid down the Western Conference standings over the past few weeks, losing 10 of their last 13 games. The Mavs’ skid has them slated to miss the postseason altogether, with only three games to play.
“Bleacher Report’s” Chris Haynes published an article on April 3, reporting that the Mavs have plans for the pairing of Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić past this season. Haynes revealed that the front office hopes to surround the duo with “versatile wing defenders” in free agency this summer.
“Going into the offseason, the Mavericks intend to surround Luka Dončić and—optimistically—Irving with versatile wing defenders and rim protectors to improve a defense that has been subpar,” he wrote. “The team has fallen out of the play-in field and has very little chance to climb back in with three games remaining on its schedule. The Mavs are a game back of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final play-in spot, and Oklahoma City owns the tie-breaker.”
Dallas has struggled as a team since making a big splash at the trade deadline and trading for Irving. They’ve won just 9-of-25 matchups since the blockbuster move.
Mavs Plan to Resign Kyrie Irving This Summer: Report
Haynes also reported that the Mavericks intend to keep Irving around this summer. The 31-year-old’s contract is set to expire at the end of the year.
“Despite the Dallas Mavericks’ struggles since acquiring Kyrie Irving, the plan is still to re-sign the star guard, league sources told Bleacher Report,” Haynes reported. “Irving is eligible for an extension, but he will instead allow his future to be decided in free agency this summer, sources said. Dallas is 9-16 since making the blockbuster trade, but the shortcomings do not fall on Irving’s shoulders.”
Kyrie Irving Says He’s ‘At Peace’ With Mavs’ Process
Irving at least sounds like he’s committed to the Mavericks past this season. During a recent press conference, he shared that he’s “at peace” with Dallas’ growth stage.
“I think the realistic view is that when I came here, this was going to be a growing process,” Irving said via Sports Illustrated’s Grant Afseth, after the March 28 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. “This was for the long term, and this was for something that’s bigger than ourselves, and we can’t just be a championship team overnight, especially me coming here. So I think I’ve wrapped my head around that aspect of it. I’m at peace with it. It doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on this season or any of my teammates are, but we know where we realistically are, and our destiny is in some other team’s hands losing games. So we just got to control what we can control and focus on the next few possessions that we have in these next games against some really good teams that want to position themselves for the playoffs. We’re fighting for a spot, so I look forward to the challenge. But again, in the last six minutes of the game, I felt like we could have been better clear, including myself.”
Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving was asked if there’s enough time to build the necessary chemistry in the final few games, given the scramble the standings has caused.
“It’s been a scramble since I’ve been here. So, trying to fill in roles that kind of fill in from other people. And I…