When the news broke that disgruntled star Kyrie Irving would be heading to the Dallas Mavericks, I questioned whether the fit was right. We know that he would have fit right in with the Los Angeles Lakers alongside Anthony Davis and LeBron James. But now Irving has a new challenge ahead of him, fitting in with arguably the best player in the league in Luka Doncic. The two personalities are contrasting styles so it’ll be interesting to see how things work.
Both are ball dominant but Irving has shared the floor with ball dominant players in the past. Irving and Doncic can learn together and see over these next couple of months whether this duo could work long-term. Irving is all set to be a free agent at the end of the season and could just as easily depart Dallas as he was traded there.
The Mavericks are looking at this as a test run of sorts. They didn’t give up too much for the services of Irving and now get an up close look at him both on and off the court. On the court, Irving is a sensational player that brings value to whatever team that he is on. But off the court is where Irving has really struggled.
First look at Kyrie in Mavs gear 👀
(via @dallasmavs) pic.twitter.com/mePxRU5fiY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 7, 2023
I don’t need to dive into all that because by now, most people know the story behind Irving. But I’d argue that this new landing spot for Irving is a chance for him to re-write the cloudy narrative that surrounds him.
Doncic is one of the quieter players around the NBA and he just lets his game do the talking for him. Irving needs more of that. Additionally, I’d argue that Doncic could use a little more fire to his personality and game. Irving can help with that.
The two could very well compliment each other well, both on and off the court. While neither of the two players are great defensively, they are going to give opposing defenses absolute hell whenever on the court together.
The Mavericks seem to be in good shape right now but then again, as do all teams when Irving first arrives. For his sake, I hope he puts his head down and just works. He is way too talented to allow outside factors dictate the rest of his career.
If he and Doncic can make this teammate thing work, then Dallas has something going forward. The team wanted to upgrade the talent around Doncic and take some of the scoring responsibilities off him. Well now they have that. Only time will tell if it pans out the way they hope it does.
