Mavericks praised for a first for Kyrie Irving's career

Dallas Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving has had one of the more mercurial careers of most stars. After winning a championship early with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he decided he wanted out of LeBron James' shadow and asked for a trade. He was sent to the Boston Celtics, where he quickly wore out his welcome, and then signed with the Brooklyn Nets.

His tenure with the Nets was marred with all sorts of things, enough to when the Dallas Mavericks traded very little for him, he was considered a flight risk and everyone panned the trade. However, he's found a home in Dallas, and Kendrick Perkins commended Dallas for it.

"I applaud him because the one thing about Kyrie is that he's done it his way," Perkins said on the "Road Trippin '" podcast. You know who else I applaud? The Dallas Mavericks, the reason being is because relationships matter like Nico and Kyrie. One could argue, this is no knock on Cleveland. This is no knock on Boston or Brooklyn. One could say this is the happiest that Kyrie Irving has ever been in his career."

Irving hasn't been shy about how he fits in Dallas, and you can tell he loves it and would like to be with the Mavs for the rest of his career. He's stepped up as a leader on and off the floor, and was the one voice of reason after the Luka Doncic trade. He was also willing to opt out of his contract for next season and lower his salary cap hit by $7 million, allowing the Mavericks to use the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign D'Angelo Russell.

When Will Kyrie Irving Return for the Mavericks?

Reports have conflicted so far on when Irving could return. He has said that he isn't going to rush things and won't return until he's completely healthy and back to full strength. Although ACL injuries aren't as strenuous as they used to be, Irving is still an older, smaller guard.

Nico Harrison has said that Irving is ahead of schedule, and Mark Cuban expects Irving to come back, but there still isn't an updated timeline. The initial one given is they believed that he could be back by January, but that seems unrealistic given that he didn't have surgery until April. A return after the All-Star Break seems reasonable for all sides.