Kyrie Irving reveals SURPRISING reason why Mavs traded and paired him with Luka Doncic

Irving believes that his ability to guard Doncic is what made the Mavs trade for him.

Kyrie Irving reveals SURPRISING reason why Mavs traded and paired him with Luka Doncic

Irving with Doncic (via NBA.com)

Kyrie Irving is considered to be one of the best ball handlers of all time. Since he is an absolute wizard on the offensive end, the defensive aspect of his game often gets overlooked. However, according to him, it was his defense that made the Dallas Mavericks trade for him. More specifically, his defense of Mavericks star – Luka Doncic.

It is no unknown fact that Doncic is an absolute offensive weapon. His height, body mass and quick change of speed make him almost impossible to guard. Very few people in the league can lock up Luka Doncic day & night. According to Irving, he is one of those people. Irving believes that he is one of the league’s only players who can effectively stop Doncic from scoring. He says it is one of the reasons Mark Cuban and the Mavericks traded for him.

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On the Locked On Mavericks podcast with Nick Angstadt, Irving was quoted saying, “I feel like I’m one of the guys that guards [Luka Doncic] the best. That’s probably why I’m on this team.”

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The expectations for Irving and Doncic are high this season. Coupled with the fact that barring a Western Conference finals berth two season prior, the Mavericks have achieved nothing of note, the pressure is on the two. With the regular season incoming, it will be exciting to see what the Mavericks can pull off.

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How has Kyrie Irving’s time with the Mavericks been?

Irving was traded to the Mavericks mid-season last year. The trade was labelled as a blockbuster one. Fans across the league were going wild at the potential offensive ceiling of the two superstars.

Kyrie Irving (via NBA.com)

However, despite all the hype and talent, the Irving-Doncic duo failed to impress. Though Irving individually was excellent, averaging 27.0 PPG, 6.0 APG and 5.0 RPG in the 20 games he played for the Mavericks, the duo as a whole didn’t perform well. In the 16 games they played together, they won just 5, and ultimately failed to make the play-in.

Despite their shortcomings, Irving has resigned with the Mavericks on a 3-year, $126 million contract. With such a high potential paycheque, expectations will be heaped on Irving. The duo have had the whole summer to understand each other better, and hopefully, this shows up on the court when they begin the regular season.

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