Mark Cuban spearheaded the option to resign mercurial NBA superstar Kyrie Irving back to the Dallas Mavericks. The two sides got a deal done for three years, $126 million fully guaranteed. The 31-year-old is now contracted through the 2025-2026 NBA season, and Kyrie seems pleased with this development. Mark Cuban is also happy with how it all went down. On SiriusXM NBA Radio, he told New York reporter and sports analyst Frank Isola why he traded for Kyrie last year and why he signed him for the near future.
"...We traded for [Kyrie Irving] because we wanted him to be a long-term piece," Mark Cuban said on SiriusXM. "I think Kyrie's just misunderstood." Cuban explains his stance further: "Everybody sees all the noise and everything around him, but when you actually talk to him, I like him. He's open, he's smart, he's always looking to learn things, and to me, he's an interesting guy that's just misunderstood." Kyrie Irving has been long known for his off-the-court opinions and refusal to get vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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What Mark Cuban Really Thinks Of Kyrie Irving
Cuban was genuinely surprised when Kyrie Irving came to the Dallas Mavericks midway through last season. The Mavs traded for him, taking him from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, two future first-round picks, and a future second-rounder. Dallas also got Markieff Morris in the deal to make the contract amounts work. So when Kyrie began to play games for the Mavs organization, Mark Cuban was shocked at how many other players in the league would come up to the point guard to show love.
"Not just giving him a high five, but like a real, honest-to-goodness, I like you hug," Cuban said. "And when you talk to players around them, they would say the same thing." The Dallas Mavericks were looking for a long-term solution to pair with generational talent and franchise superstar Luka Doncic. Their previous point guard, Jalen Brunson, departed for the New York Knicks last offseason, leaving the Mavericks with more questions than answers. Mark Cuban hopes Kyrie Irving can be the answer and has staked $126 million on that hope.