Report: Kyrie Irving's 'Professionalism' Has Impressed Mavs amid Luka Dončić Comments

Acquiring Kyrie Irving hasn't kick-started the Dallas Mavericks' season, but he might be shouldering too much blame for their performance.

ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported Irving's teammates have spoken highly of his "professionalism and locker room presence" so far:

This is a case of Irving's reputation preceding him. Fairly or unfairly, he was bound to become a scapegoat in the event the Mavs failed to move up the Western Conference standings. At 36-38, Dallas is 11th in the West, and it has gone just 3-7 when Irving and Luka Dončić have started together.

Even more concerning, Dončić has openly lamented the state of the season.

There's no question the Irving trade hasn't gone according to plan, but focusing solely on the eight-time All-Star elides the problems that existed within the organization before he arrived.

Dallas bungled the Jalen Brunson negotiations, and his offseason departure was a clear blow to the franchise because it couldn't go out and sign a suitable replacement. The jury is still out on whether going from Rick Carlisle to Jason Kidd as head coach was a net upgrade. And to a degree, the Mavericks are still trying to dig themselves out of the hole they fell into thanks to the Kristaps Porziņģis trade.

irving is averaging 27.6 points and 6.1 assists and shooting 50.4 percent from the field with the Mavs. He's holding up his end of the bargain for the most part, even if his production isn't translating into wins.

In general, the Mavericks might be approaching the worst-case scenario from this trade. They could wind up losing Irving in free agency with little to nothing to show from his brief tenure.