Kyrie Irving Says He, Luka Dončić, Mavs Can 'Build Our Future' After ...
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Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving remains optimistic about the organization's long-term direction with he and Luka Dončić despite suffering a one-sided NBA Finals exit at the hands of the Boston Celtics.
"We answered a lot of questions this year on what we were capable of doing and now it's just about being consistent," he told reporters following Monday's 106-88 Game 5 defeat. "I think probably in the last week, I said that I wanted to be remembered as one of the best teams of this era and our last few champions have been a new one each and every year.
"So, I see an opportunity for us to really build our future in a positive manner where this is almost like a regular thing for us, and we're competing for championships. You know, I think from a spiritual standpoint, I think I enjoyed this journey more than any other season, just because of the redemption arc and being able to learn as much as I did about myself and my teammates and the organization and the people that I'm around."
It would be unfair to classify the Finals as a disappointment for the Mavericks, but the series showed how far they still need to go in order to be a champion.
The Celtics, more battle-tested as a collective group, led by double figures in each of their four wins. Even with Kristaps Porziņģis' availability and effectiveness limited due to injuries, Boston was comfortably the stronger of the two teams in the Finals.
That doesn't have to be a major indictment of the Mavericks because getting to this point and losing is often a necessary step for great teams. Just ask the Boston stars who came up short against the Golden State Warriors in 2022 and stuck around to lift the franchise's 18th title.
The challenge before Dallas general manager Nico Harrison is how to get the roster to that next level.
Irving and Dončić are obviously the centerpieces, and young center Dereck Lively II was so good as a rookie it's tough to envision him being available in trades. Otherwise, the Mavs have some pieces (Jaden Hardy and Josh Green) along with enough draft capital to make a marquee acquisition down the road.
Especially with the more restrictive collective bargaining agreement in place, Harrison will probably want to see how the supporting cast behind Irving and Dončić improves before he seriously weighs a move that might raise Dallas' ceiling.
