Mark Cuban Makes Bold Statement On Kyrie Irving

The Dallas Mavericks have been in a woeful swoon since acquiring Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline, going 7-12 and dropping from the 4th seed in the Western Conference to their current spot in 11th.

But outspoken owner Mark Cuban says they got Irving "for the long term", and that re-signing the controversial point guard is his top offseason priority.

"We want to keep Kyrie Irving." -Mark Cuban on the looming free agency #MFFL pic.twitter.com/o2Qa8jCk2J
— MFFL (@Mavs_FFL) April 5, 2023

Irving will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and with his well-known delusions of grandeur, will be expecting a max contract at a max length of years. There is no other known team in the NBA that would be willing to risk that sort of deal with the half-man, half-season wonder, so it'll be interesting to see what kind of a contract Cuban will be willing to hand out to Irving.

Mark Cuban on Kyrie Irving: “I want him to stay.” Asked if he’s a max player, Cuban says, “I’m not going to negotiate with you.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 5, 2023

When asked by a media member if he thought Kyrie was a max player, Cuban's response was, “I’m not going to negotiate with you.”

The Mavs owner added, however, "I think we have a good shot." Again, considering there is no other team that has been linked to wanting to sign Irving (even the Los Angeles Lakers are said to have different priorities this summer), it's likely that Cuban does have a good shot. But at what price—financially and philosophically?

Photo: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports