Mavericks head coach gets honest about Kyrie Irving's expectations
Jason Kidd was brutally honest about Mavericks’ chances to re-sign Kyrie Irving.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has a vested interest in what happens with his second All-Star guard Kyrie Irving this summer.
If Irving chooses to return, that means Kidd will be coaching two stars for a full 82 games, giving the Mavericks a chance to build something the team didn't have with Irving during the 2022-23 season — chemistry.
Recently, when asked about his expectations for Irving's return to Dallas following the summer, however, Kidd got brutally honest about the state of uncertainty the Mavs find themselves in this offseason.
“I think he truly is happy here. I think he wants to be here,” Kidd told Rachel Nichols. “But that doesn’t guarantee us that he’s going to stay. He has the option and the opportunity as a professional to look elsewhere, because he is a free agent, and I don’t want to take that away from him, being a player who was in that situation. We’re going to do everything to keep him. At the end of the day, it’s his decision, but we believe we’ll see what that is, but we hope that we’ve done everything to make him comfortable, and want to be a Mavs for life.”
It is clear that the Mavericks like what Irving brings to the table. During the 2022-23 season, Irving averaged 27.0 points, 6.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds. He was extremely efficient when it came to shot creation and shot-making. He shot 51.0 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from three.
Additionally, Kidd’s explanation of the organization’s efforts to retain Irving echoes what an anonymous NBA general manager told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney.
“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,” said the source. “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.”
What remains extremely uncertain is how the Mavs value Irving. It is evident that Irving wants long-term security in the form of money and contract length. Team governor Mark Cuban told reporters near the end of last season that there is a point where a contract may be too expensive.
The jury is still out on Irving's future in Dallas. But if someone asks Kidd, he likes the Mavericks' chances at keeping the 31-year-old star. Now it is time to see if everything plays out as expected.
