Mavs’ Kyrie Irving Thinks Free Agency Questions Add ‘Distraction’

Kyrie Irving has only been a member of the Dallas Mavericks for three games and already he’s made it clear that he has no desire to address his future with the organization.

Just before the NBA trade deadline, Irving requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, which was granted and dismantled the team in the blink of an eye. Now, joining a Mavericks team hungry for glory in the Western Conference, Irving provided a far familiar answer when questioned about his future plans ahead. When the season reaches its end, Irving will become an unrestricted free agent, which poses obvious questions regarding his outlook on Dallas as a long-term option.

And similarly to when Irving was presented with the same questions during his final year with the Boston Celtics, the 30-year-old doesn’t care to create any distractions that could hurt Dallas’ potential success down the line this season.

“I would love to just — out of respect of you guys and everybody the rest of the season just continuously (stop) asking me that,” Irving told reporters before Monday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, per DallasBasketball’s Grant Afseth. “It just puts unwarranted distractions on us and our team. I’ve dealt with it before and it’s very emotional, draining to ask questions of, ‘What’s the long-term? What’s the long-term?'”

Back in Brooklyn, Irving and the Nets were in the middle of extension talks. However, with reported stipulations in place from the Nets’ front office, the deal and Irving’s future with the team fell crumbled beyond repair.

“I will say that from the start of when I came here, there’s been nothing but a warm embrace, nothing but genuine love, nothing but a familiarity of relationships that I could really look to,” Irving said.

The Mavericks have struggled to surround star Luka Doncic with a proper supporting cast necessary for a deep NBA Finals run. Dallas failed with the Kristaps Porzingis acquisition at the 2019 trade deadline while Doncic — now an MVP contender — has only gotten better.

So far, Irving has pulled his weight on the court. He’s averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 48.1% from the field in his first three games with the Mavericks. But if Irving doesn’t deem Dallas the right fit, he could quickly turn into a short-term rental, raising the stakes even further for the Mavericks come playoff time.

“What the future holds is really only going to be dictated on what I do right now and how I prepare for those next steps and that’s being the best teammate I can in the locker room, being a great leader out here,” Irving said. “… Just putting (those questions) to bed and focusing on what we have ahead as a team.”