"I don't think Mark Cuban is in the business of having to kiss Kyrie's butt" - Shannon Sharpe sounds off on Kyrie Irving's pending extension
The "Kyrie Irving experiment" with Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks has been disappointing, given what owner Mark Cuban had to let go only to be in jeopardy of not making the playoffs. Still, he remains firm with his intention of re-signing Irving in the offseason.
Irving is no stranger to controversy when it comes to long-term commitments with NBA teams he played for, from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets. General managers around the league have been cautious about acquiring Irving, who will be a free agent this summer. On "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," Shannon Sharpe said:
"The talent says he’s a max player," Sharpe said. "The behavior off the court tells me he’s a three-year player. When a player has that kind of leverage, has that kind of security, they can give you a butt to kiss and you basically gotta kiss it. I don't think Mark Cuban is in the business of having to kiss Kyrie's butt."
To acquire the eight-time All-Star in early February, Dallas had to send Dorrian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie and a 2029 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets.
Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks (38-42) are 11th in the Western Conference standings. The team has struggled since Irving's acquisition in early February and are just 4-11 with both Irving and Doncic playing together and 7-16 since Feb. 10.
Even with Kyrie's impressive statline of 27.1 points per game on 49.4% shooting, 5.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds, the team has not been the same compared to last season. The Mavericks went 52-30 and then reached the Western Conference finals before losing in five games to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, who went on to win the NBA championship a year ago.
Play-in scenario for Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks had lost seven of eight games before beating the Sacramento Kings 123-119 on Wednesday, with their defensive efforts being their biggest concern as they ranked 24th on defense around the league.
The Mavs are 11th in the Western Conference, despite being tied with the OKC Thunder (38-42) in overall record. However, because the Thunder won two of three games against Dallas this season, they hold the tiebreaker for the last spot in the play-in tournament. The Mavericks and Thunder each have two games remaining in the season, and Dallas needs to finish one game ahead of Oklahoma City to make the play-in tournament.
If Dallas secures a spot in the tournament, the Mavericks will face the team that finishes ninth (currently the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are 40-40). The ninth-place team will host.
Whichever team that wins that game will then have to win a second game against the loser of the game between the teams which finish seventh and eighth in the West. The winner of that game gets the No. 8 seed and faces the No. 1 seed (the Denver Nuggets, who are 52-27, in the first round of the playoffs.