$325,532 expense looms for Kyrie Irving after commitments to suspended Mavs duo Naji Marshall, PJ Washington
Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving presented to cover the fines of his teammates PJ Washington and Naji Marshall on Saturday.
Marshall and Washington were ejected from the game after an altercation with Phoenix Suns' Jusuf Nurkic. Speaking to The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin after the game, Irving offered to pay the fines of his teammates.
At the time of Irving's postgame interview, the penalties were not determined.
"I'll take care of his (Marshall) fines, whoever's watching. PJ's (Washington) fines," Irving declared.
"Throw that sh*t under the rug, excuse my language," he added.
On Saturday, the NBA handed down the penalties for the brawl that occurred in the Mavericks' 98-89 win over the Suns. ESPN's Bobby Marks detailed the fines in a post on X. Marshall is suspended for four games and fined $236,452 ($59,113 for each game), Washington is fined $89,080 with a one-game suspension, and Nurkic is suspended for three games with a total fine of $375,000.
The total combined fine for the Mavericks players is $325,532. The amount won't hurt Irving, as he is earning over $41 million this season. Washington and Marshall's salaries are significantly less at $15.5 million and $8.6 million, respectively.
The one-time NBA champion is in the second year of the three-year, $126 million contract he signed with Dallas on July 2023. Per Spotrac, he has amassed over $311 million in earnings in his 13-year career.
The NBA ratings problem this season also caught strays from Irving as the guard joked that the altercation could be good for the league.
"Maybe that's just the way we end 2024 when somebody actually swings in the NBA. Maybe that will help our ratings," Irving said.
Kyrie Irving's thoughts on protecting teammates
Kyrie Irving acknowledged that altercations can be part of basketball due to the competitive nature of the game. With that, players have the responsibility to protect themselves and, if possible, have the back of their teammates as well.
"It happened so quickly. But in moments like that, you just want everybody to protect themselves. I felt like that's what PJ (Washington) was doing for Naji (Marshall). After Naji got hit, he was just protecting himself," Irving said.
He mentioned that Washington just stood up for Marshall and was in a position to defend themselves.
"If we're out on the street, even though we're not playing basketball, you have to protect yourself. You have to at least put your hands up and at least swing back," he added. "It's part of basketball sometimes."
Kyrie Irving and the Mavericks are in Portland to face the Trail Blazers. Washington will serve his one-game suspension, while Marshall will be out for the next three games. Dallas will be shorthanded as Luka Doncic is also sidelined due to a left calf strain. The star guard is out for at least a month.