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Kyrie Irving is staying in Dallas, and he’s making it clear what the goal is.
The Mavericks guard has agreed to a new three-year deal worth $119 million, a move that not only secures his future with the team but also opens the door for Dallas to stay aggressive in free agency.
“Kyrie Irving had a $43 million player option. And what made his decision so important is if he opted into that deal, the Mavericks would not have had the ability to go out and use their taxpayer mid-level exception of over $5 million to go get a starting-caliber player they feel can come in a start while Kyrie Irving is out potentially until January or February, with that torn ACL,” ESPN’s Shams Charania explained on FanDuel TV.
“So, they’ve been in negotiation for the past week or so to figure out what does it look like for Kyrie Irving as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. So, if he’d opted in, they’d have had some issues. But they were able to reach an agreement on a three-year, $119 million deal,” Charania said.
Shams went on to explain the three reasons Kyrie took the new deal.
“I actually spoke to Kyrie Irving late last night and he told me his decision was made for three reasons,” Shams said. “One, he wanted to show commitment to Dallas. He feels like they’ve been committed to him. He wants to build a legacy in Dallas,” Charania said. “We know what happened in Brooklyn. There was tremoultous exit out of Brooklyn. Now, he feels he’s in a home environment. And the third pillar is he really does believe. You can hear it in his voice that this team can win a championship when he’s whole again.
“They have Anthony Davis. They’re going to have Cooper Flagg. They have arguabally the best frontcourt in the league with Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis, Derek Lively II, and Daniel Gafford. They have Klay Thompson at the wing as a shooter. So, we’ll see how Nico Harrison and that organization is able to round out this roster.”
READ MORE: Cooper Flagg Embracing the Spotlight as Mavericks’ New Franchise Face
