Despite all the chatter about Kyrie Irving wanting to reunite forces with LeBron James, the Dallas Mavericks re-signed the Point Guard this off-season. Awarding the 6’2” star with a massive $126,000,000 contract, Mark Cuban and Co. have extended their relationship with Irving for another three years. Even though the Texas side has given this lucrative contract to the 2016 NBA Champion, Cuban made it extremely clear that Luka Doncic was the leader of the squad. With the owner speaking about Doncic being #1 on the team, fans have been worried about Kai’s future in Dallas.
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The Dallas Mavericks had a subpar performance during Kyrie Irving’s 20-game span. One can easily pin the team’s failures on the lack of team chemistry. In order to rectify those mistakes, Irving is trying his level best to build a relationship with his new teammates. His attempt to do so – when reacting to Slovenia’s exhibition games ahead of the World Cup, the shifty guard didn’t stop praising Luka Doncic. Further, the former Duke Blue Devil even claimed that none of the Twitch viewers could slow his teammate down.
Mark Cuban makes it clear that Luka Doncic is the leader of the Dallas Mavericks
Mark Cuban recently made an appearance on Patrick Beverley’s podcast. At one point in the must-watch episode, the business tycoon addressed the Kyrie Irving-Luka Doncic issues that several analysts and enthusiasts have been bombarding him with. Making it crystal clear, the multi-billionaire revealed that Doncic was the leader of the team. As for Kyrie, the 31-year-old is the #2 leader.
“He knows that this is Luka’s team. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. It is Luka’s team. He (Kyrie) can play two. Luka is that good that when Luka is in there, Ky needs to run to the corner? He’ll run to the corner. If they double him and he needs to come to the foul line, just get a bounce pass and play four-on-three. What’s better than that?”
According to Cuban, Irving needs to play under the leadership of the Slovenian prodigy. The 65-year-old even claimed that the 2012 Rookie of the Year shouldn’t mind doing so if winning is the priority.
“People talk about Ky and Luka fitting together. Ky knows this is Luka’s team. Ky knows how Luka plays. Great basketball players are great basketball players, right? They know how to play off of anybody else. He’s not a 19-year-old Ky anymore, he’s not a 25-year-old Ky anymore. He’s a mature 31-year-old Ky and he wants to win. That makes all the difference in the world.”
As soon as the clip from Pat Bev’s podcast went viral on social media, NBA Twitter blew up with various reactions. Users such as @itswooch couldn’t believe how candid Cuban seemed.
Whereas, @ChiefOttoSosa dubbed Cuban’s comments as “toxic”, drawing comparisons to the unselfish nature of the Denver Nuggets.
Lastly, @BronGotGame made a valid point about Irving agreeing to play under someone else’s leadership. Back in 2017, Irving reportedly parted ways with the Cleveland Cavaliers as he didn’t want to play in LeBron James’ shadows. What makes Mark Cuban and other Mavericks fans believe that Kyrie is ready to make the sacrifice for a 24-year-old Luka?
Will the Dallas Mavericks be the destination where Kyrie Irving retires?
Even before the 2022-2023 season came to an end, there were rumors that spoke about Kyrie Irving and LeBron James reuniting. Known for being an excellent recruit, many were convinced that LeBron would persuade his former teammate to join the Los Angeles Lakers.
Amid the speculations, Irving revealed his intentions of wanting to retire for the next team he signed with. As seen in the Bleacher Report tweet above, the eight-time All-Star was searching for a “place where he can spend the rest of his career”. Re-signing a three-year contract with the Mavericks, Dallas fans will be hopeful that Irving stays true to his words.
