On the surface you can see it, why the Mavericks would cast their lot with Kyrie Irving, why a seemingly functional NBA franchise would tie its future to one of the NBA’s most dysfunctional top talents. The Mavs are struggling, 28–26 at the start of the first full week in February and a long way from the Western Conference finalist they were a year ago. Luka Dončić is putting up MVP numbers, but every exasperated end-of-game look from Dončić has had to make Dallas fearful that it was inching closer to the day Dončić, under contract through the 2025–26 season, could ask out.
On paper, Irving fits.
Irving, of course, heads to Texas with a lot more than what’s on paper.
