Dallas Maverick’s point guard Kyrie Irving tore his ACL during Monday night’s play against Sacramento Kings, according to several reports.
Irving’s season is over, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Realistically, the season is over for Mavericks as well.
Irving, 32, had one of his best, most consistent seasons since he demanded a trade away from Cleveland Cavaliers 2017. A surprise to many around the league, his mating with Luka Dončić in Dallas worked directly.
Even more surprising was when Dončić was the superstar who was sent out from Dallas for Anthony Davis, who injured himself in his debut with Mavericks. He has been on the page for about a month with the same left addictor injury that tracked his debut in Dallas.
General Manager Nico Harrison’s decision to trade Dončić somehow looks even worse than it did when it happened.
Dončic’s Los Angeles Lakers Lakers not only improve and want to make sounds in the NBA finals, but the mating of Davis and Irving is also dead. Mavericks is no.
While rumors continue to circulate that Mavericks are dissatisfied with Dončic’s conditioning, eating and drinking habits, the decision to replace him was a miscalculation of epic proportions. It was never meaningful to send out one of the faces on basketball for an injury -prone star in Davis.
Without Irving, the rest of this season is completely meaningless to Mavericks.
Harrison is probably the man who will ultimately be held responsible for this debate. While Davis is under contract until his player option during the 2027-28 season, it does not mean much if he does not have a healthy superstar with him.
Irving has a game option this season. While his time in Dallas has been very successful, he has previously said his desire to go away from the basketball game at an early age. It would certainly be a shock to the NBA community if one of the best point guards in the game retired now, but Irving is unpredictable, and this is a devastating injury.
For the rest of the players in Dalla’s dressing room, there really isn’t much to play for. Was a play-in team and be decimated in the first round of the playoffs? It doesn’t sound fun.
Harrison should accept the reality that he did one of the most short-term business in the NBA story, helped a Western Conference Rival become a legitimate title challenger and completely screwed his organization from immediate or future battle.
Feel bad for Maverick’s fans. At least they have the cowboys.
