NBA executive believes Mavericks want to keep Kyrie Irving despite Luka Doncic's concerns
As rumors swirl regarding Kyrie Irving’s future with the Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncic may not want to ‘share’ as one GM explained.
As the Dallas Mavericks prepare to re-sign Kyrie Irving, rumors are swirling regarding Luka Doncic's thoughts on playing with the All-Star guard.
Recently, an anonymous NBA executive spoke to Heavy.com's Steve Bulpett, where they explained that Doncic may not "want to share" with Irving next season.
"I think they want Kyrie and they like Kyrie, but what I can tell you is that Luka, who wasn't against the trade, just like so many young players today, doesn't want to share. Kyrie was on great behavior—like he was doing everything to try to win over Luka and be a teammate. Every single player on that team and everyone in the organization loves Kyrie from his time there so far.
"I do think there's some skepticism going forward for what they're going to offer him. Like they're not completely naïve. But Kyrie's behavior was excellent. It was more the fact that Luka had to adjust to playing with such a great player. Everyone there has been saying Kyrie is incredible, and that's in private, too. Luka's said it, and he means it. But I think that he just doesn't want to share. He just doesn't know how. He's out there on the court and the ball has been in his hands; no matter what, it's his ball. And now there's actually consideration that I might need to pass the ball to somebody else and let them do the magic, instead of me just waiting for the clock to run down and shoot a step-back three from the hash mark.
"I get that totally, by the way. I understand it. I think it happens all the time in our league. And we forget that Luka's 24 years old. At some point, he's going to want someone like that, and he just isn't there yet. Making All-NBA and being in the MVP conversation, those things will be tarnished a little bit if you are playing with someone else that on one-third of the nights needs the ball and is better than you at those times."
At the end of the season team governor Mark Cuban told reporters that Irving was the team's top priority heading into the offseason. So even if Doncic doesn't want to play with Irving, he will have to accept it moving forward.
Doncic and Irving didn't win many games together during their short sprint at the end of the 2022-23 season.
The duo eventually rested the final two games as the Mavericks attempted to hold on to their chances at reclaiming a top-10 protected pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
The Athletic's John Hollinger reported Thursday that the Utah Jazz are "keeping a very interested eye" on Doncic's situation in Dallas. Meaning, if things go south, the Jazz may make a move for Doncic sooner rather than later.
Doncic was in desperate need of a co-star during the 2022 season after the Mavericks let Jalen Brunson walk last offseason. The results didn't work out as expected, but that didn't deter Nico Harrison from committing to Irving at his exit interview last month.
All signs point to the Mavericks doing their best to re-sign Irving, regardless of what Doncic has to say about it.
