Mark Cuban reveals what he heard about Kyrie Irving before trading for him, and what he spotted on tape

Cuban says players love Irving

Undoubtedly, Irving is one of the most outspoken NBA players and does not back down from giving it back to the media.

He was criticized by a lot of people for deciding to sit out when he was with the Nets as Irving was not willing to take the Covid vaccine.

After a lot of back and forth, Irving was eventually traded to the Mavericks in 2023. But prior to making the decision to bring him to Dallas, Cuban heard a lot of negative stuff about Irving.

The entrepreneur also spoke to players, and the opinion they had about him was completely different.

Cuban said: “I love Kai to death, when he was having all his problems at Brooklyn and before that in Boston, like we’re trying to get another star to pair with Luka and initially Kyrie you know, everybody called him a cancer, they were ready to get rid of him. But every player I talked to loved him.

“I would start watching his old games and after every game guys dap up and trade jerseys.

“People didn’t just dap they were hugging him like they were cousins and they hadn’t seen in forever, they just loved the guy and everyone I talked to same thing”

Irving’s return will help the Mavericks

An ACL injury is tough for any player to recover from, and at 33, Irving will certainly not want to rush back.

Even without him, the Mavericks have a loaded roster with rookie sensation Cooper Flagg and other veterans like Klay Thompson and Anthony Davis leading the way.

D’Angelo Russell was picked by the Mavs as his replacement and he is someone who can play well, but expecting him to produce Irving-like numbers is too much.

Before his injury, Irving was looking motivated and putting up big numbers for the team as he was the sole star for them after the Luka Doncic trade due to an injury to Davis.

A return date has not been set for him as it could fluctuate depending on his rehabilitation. There have been clips circulating of Irving shooting the basketball, but it will take a while before he can play in a game.

While the Mavs have enough to withstand the regular season, they will need him for the playoffs as things get tough there.

He has the experience of playing on the biggest stage and will be key in helping them against tough defenses.