The Kyrie Irving experiment hasn't worked out swimmingly for the Dallas Mavericks, and they're likely headed toward a divorce this offseason.
When the Dallas Mavericks made the bold move to acquire Kyrie Irving at last year's NBA Trade Deadline, the belief was that the front office had finally found a worthy running mate for Luka Doncic. However, since adding Kyrie, that hasn't exactly translated to on-the-court play. Kyrie is surely a big name and carries a ton of weight on paper, but he hasn't made the impact that perhaps many believed he would playing next to Luka.
That's been evident the most this season. At 34-28, the Mavs are reeling in the Western Conference standings and find themselves in danger of falling out of the top 8. Overall, the Mavs have lost five of their last six games, leading to some natural frustration. Since January 12, the Mavs are 12-13. If that's not a warning sign, I'm not sure what is.
The move for Kyrie Irving has been one big miscalculation by the Dallas Mavericks
It's safe to say that more than a year into the Kyrie experiment, it's not working. And hasn't worked as the Mavs believed it would. The hope in acquiring Kyrie was that the move would help the Mavs emerge as a contender in the Western Conference. After missing the playoffs last season, the Mavs are now playing to avoid the Play-In Tournament this year. It's been a near disaster, considering how much of a risk Dallas was taking with the move.
With just a few weeks before the end of the regular season and not much to look forward to when the playoffs do begin, the Mavs will have some big questions to answer heading into the summer. And with the way things look now, I'd argue that the Mavs and Kyrie could very much be headed toward an offseason divorce. Let's explore three reasons why.