Kyrie Irving has become a scapegoat for the majority of Dallas’ problems and he’s being fairly candid with how it’s all going since being traded there in February.
Many have labeled the guard as a ‘team killer’ as the Mavericks have gone 7-10 with him on the floor and without him (and before his arrival), they are 30-30 but Irving says he feels at peace with the franchise’s long-term plans.
“I think the realistic view is that when I came here, this was going to be a growing process,” Irving said. “This was for the long term, and this was for something that’s bigger than ourselves, and we can’t just be a championship team overnight, especially me coming here.
“So I think I’ve wrapped my head around that aspect of it. I’m at peace with it. It doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on this season or any of my teammates are, but we know where we realistically are, and our destiny is in some other team’s hands losing games. So we just got to control what we can control and focus on the next few possessions that we have in these next games against some really good teams that want to position themselves for the playoffs. We’re fighting for a spot, so I look forward to the challenge.”
Irving’s superstar teammate Luka Doncic made some alarming comments this week after two back-to-back losses to Charlotte and Irving has pointed out the tough position he finds himself in having to adjust to a new team while having an answer for why they are losing.
“Just human nature, man,” Irving said. “I’m getting traded to a new work environment, and it’s just a lot of newness. I’m trying to introduce myself to everybody, figure out, you know, who do guys go to on the team to confide in off the court? Who is our coaching staff as people? Upper management, who are they as people? What do they expect from me? The big question, why they traded for me? And, you know, what does it look like for the future? That’s the big question. What does our future look like? What does our future look like? I think that now, again, just where we are in the season, and where other teams are positioned already, it kind of looks like a bit of a clusterf**k, to be honest with you, because we’re 37-40, and we’re trying to fight to get into the play-in game.”
There was a certain expectation that two of the games most skilled players would jel on the court straight away but clearly that hasn’t been the case.
Irving has an obvious respect for the organization and his teammates and from what he is saying now, it sounds like he wants to stay there and help build something great.
Although, this is the most unpredictable man in the NBA, so it is just as likely a scenario that he switches teams as a free agent this summer.
READ MORE: Kyrie Irving Explains Why He Got Fan Ejected