The Dallas Mavericks snapped a three-game losing streak on Wednesday, beating the Sacramento Kings, 123-119. Prior to the late-season meeting, Mavs owner Mark Cuban caught up with the media.
Cuban took some time to discuss Luka Doncic‘s long-term future with the franchise, saying he believes the young star would like to spend his entire career in Dallas.
“Look, players don’t talk like that, just like, ‘Hey, I’m here for the next 17 years.’ He’d like to be here the whole time, but we’ve got to earn that,” Cuban said via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
When questioned about how the Mavericks can earn Doncic’s loyalty, Cuban’s response was simple.
Win.
“Win championships,” Cuban said. “It’s amazing how that cures all. I mean, before Giannis [Antetokounmpo] won, everybody was like, ‘Where’s he going? Where’s he going? He’s not staying. He’s not staying.’ [Nikola] Jokic, while they haven’t won, da, da, da, da, da. Dirk [Nowitzki] before [the Mavs won the 2010-11 title], right? There’s no great player, no superstar, where they don’t question, ‘What are you gonna do if you haven’t won yet?”
Doncic’s future with Dallas won’t be in question anytime soon. The Slovenian star signed a 5-year extension with the Mavs back in 2021. He’ll be under contract through at least the 2026-27 season, at which point he’ll have a player-option allowing him to opt out.
Mark Cuban Sounds Off on Mavs’ Kyrie Irving Plans
A more pressing contract situation comes with Doncic’s backcourt partner Kyrie Irving. Irving’s deal expires after this year, making him an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
Before the April 5 meeting with the Kings, Cuban told the press that the hope is for Uncle Drew to stay in town past this season, adding that to his understanding, the star guard has been happy in Dallas.
“I’d love to have him stay for sure,” Cuban continued. “I’d love to have him. I want him to stay for sure, and I think we have a good shot. I think he’s happy here. He tells me he’s happy here, and I get along great with him. I think he’s a good guy. All I can tell you is everything I thought I knew about Kyrie because of everything I read was 100% wrong.”
Kyrie Irving Understands Mavericks Growing Process
Though the Mavericks have struggled quite a bit since Irving joined the team in mid-February, he doesn’t seem overly frustrated with their struggles.
He recently told reporters that he’s “at peace” with the team’s growing process.
“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…
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Mark Cuban Gets Real on Luka Doncic’s Long-Term Future With Mavericks