The Dallas Mavericks decided to make a win-now move by going out of their way to acquire Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets, but the controversial point guard is none too interested about discussing his future in Texas just yet.
During his introductory press conference ahead of their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Irving explained that discussing such things right now would be a distraction for the team.
"I would love to just have the respect of you guys, everybody, the rest of the season of just [not] continuously asking me that," Irving stated as a preface for his following comment.
"It really just puts unwanted distractions on us and our team and I've dealt with it before, and it's very emotionally draining to just ask questions of 'What's the long term? What is it?' But I will say that from the start of when I came here, it's been nothing but love and grace, nothing but genuine love."
From a public relations standpoint, Irving made the right decision not to debunk what his future plans are as it has bitten him in the ankles before.
As a member of the Boston Celtics, Irving verbally committed to re-upping with the franchise in October 2018—even putting out a Nike advert that had him declaring his desire to retire the No. 11 jersey in Boston.
However, the 2018-19 season did not work in Irving and the Celtics' favor as they fell 4-1 to the Milwaukee Bucks and his move to Brooklyn was seemingly around the corner even before the season ended.
During the 2019 NBA All-Star Game, a video of Irving and Kevin Durant chatting it up in the tunnel had NBA fans wondering whether a team-up was happening soon and those rumors came to fruition in the offseason.
With the Nets, Irving appeared in a total of 143 games out of a possible 328 – spending more time on the bench than on the court and that was mainly due to injuries, but it should be noted that his stint was also filled with controversy.
Prior to the 2022-23 season, sources believed that he was going to stay in Brooklyn after all and he cemented his commitment by opting into his $36.5 million player option.
But after contract talks stalled, Irving decided to call it quits on the Nets and ask for a trade which now leads him to his fourth NBA team at age 30.
Mavericks fans will surely be worrying about whether Irving decides to stay on for the long term after giving up Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith plus multiple picks.
While it does raise question marks as to his commitment to the Mavericks, at the very least Irving will not be doing any more damage to his reputation by making another verbal promise and then deciding to change his mind in the offseason.
But even if it turns out to be a one-year rental, Mavericks fans can take comfort in the fact that they are set to witness fun basketball for the rest of the season after seeing him drop huge numbers in his first few outings.
