Kyrie Irving Says Contract Questions Put 'Unwanted Distractions' on Mavericks

Kyrie Irving will face a decision this offseason as to whether stay with the Dallas Mavericks long-term or sign with another team in free agency. However, he's apparently tired of answering questions about the situation.

Per Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News, Irving requested that reporters stop asking him about his future.

"It just puts unwanted distractions on our team. … It's very draining to ask what's the long term," he said.

Interestingly enough, unwanted distractions are part of the reason the Brooklyn Nets decided to trade Irving to Dallas on Feb. 5. Irving's tenure in Brooklyn included a suspension in November after he promoted an antisemitic film on social media and then initially refused to apologize and disavow antisemitism and playing just 29 games in 2021-22 because he refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The 30-year-old had requested to be traded six days before the trade deadline after he reportedly was unhappy the Nets didn't fulfill his desires for a contract extension.

Upon the acquisition of Irving, ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported he and the Mavs do not intend to engage in contract negotiations until after the 2022-23 season is completed. Dallas is more focused on competing for an NBA championship this year, and bringing in Irving to play alongside superstar Luka Dončić will hopefully benefit the team's chances.

Irving and Dončić played together for the first time on Saturday against the Sacramento Kings. While both of them had strong outings, the Mavs suffered an overtime loss to fall to 31-27. Irving had a team-high 28 points with seven assists while Dončić had 27 points and nine assists. Many are wondering how the two will fit together, and it appears they are already well on their way to figuring that out.

Dallas will look to bounce back on Monday night when it hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves (30-29). It will be Irving's first game in front of Mavs fans since being acquired last week.