At least one NBA general manager has a very high opinion of Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said on the newest episode of Brian Windhorst’s Hoop Collective podcast the GM asserted Irving is better than now-former teammate Luka Dončić.
“I was talking to another general manager today and they made the statement—and it was like confidently—that Kyrie is a better player than Luka,” MacMahon said starting at the 44:48 mark. “And I was taken aback by that. I think Kyrie’s an incredible talent, but Luka just led the league in scoring, basically averaging triple-doubles.”
That’s a bold opinion when Irving isn’t even having one of his best seasons in the NBA. He’s averaging 24.3 points on 47.9 percent shooting, including 41.5 percent from the arc, along with 4.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
Dončić isn’t scoring as efficiently as Irving, but he’s putting up more points (28.1), rebounds (8.3) and assists (7.8). And some would consider this a slightly disappointing season from the 25-year-old.
There’s at least one outlier. Otherwise, you’d be hard-pressed to find many people who would take Irving over Dončić. The latter is a top-five talent in the league.
Granted, Dallas sent a clear message when it executed Sunday’s stunning blockbuster and swapped its franchise cornerstone for Anthony Davis.
MacMahon reported on SportsCenter the Mavs had grown frustrated with Dončić’s conditioning and were worried about how his game would age as he was in line for a five-year, $345 million supermax extension this summer.
General manager Nico Harrison went out on a massive limb when he decided to move on from a five-time All-NBA honoree in the prime of his career. Dallas is also coming off an NBA Finals appearance, so it could clearly contend for a title with Dončić as the No. 1 option.
For now, the scorn and criticism toward Harrison and the Mavs front office is almost universal. In time, maybe their assessment of Dončić’s value into the future proves to be correct.
