Following Kyrie Irving’s turbulent arrival in Dallas in February of last year, the Mavericks realized they had to take a proactive approach in fostering a relationship between him and star center Luka Dončić.
The renowned dribbler God Shammgod, who has been an assistant coach in Dallas for almost ten years, said right away that the two would train together as often as possible. Several team dinners were organized by then-majority owner Mark Cuban, and Shammgod made sure bottles of wine were present for long conversations between himself and the two stars.
Shammgod remarked, “A lot of people that were saying stuff, (but) they don’t know them.” They are both people I know. They both wanted to win, and I knew it.
To be fair, there were many reasons to doubt this collaboration would succeed, even with the competitive urge; in fact, it seemed that doubts were shared by everyone.
Numerous doubts surrounded Dallas’ acquisition of Irving, which it pursued even as the league’s opinion of Irving plummeted to its lowest point. Over the previous three seasons, the eight-time All-Star had only appeared in 103 games. He missed games because of local immunization laws, injuries sustained on the court, and a suspension he received for sharing a link to an antisemitic documentary on social media. His behavior, his availability, and his compatibility with Dončić’s domination on the ball raised questions. About his premature departures from each of his three previous organizations due to transactions he asked for or pledges he breached.
It’s nearly hard to imagine that Dončić and Irving, who taunt each other at NBA Finals press conferences and call each other “brothers,” are still in the same position as the Mavs just 15 months later.
The Mavericks made every effort to undermine the Luka-Kyrie relationship, but it took some time for the two to become close. The superstar tandem’s full potential had to be unlocked over a course of time, patience, and an international trip last fall. Their journey to the NBA Finals was their first since 2011.
For the rest of their lives, they will be connected, according to Shammgod. That being said, “we should all just sit back and watch it unfold when you have that type of greatness.”
This is how Irving and Dončić were reunited for eternity. After the Irving deal, a catastrophic two-month stretch occurred. The first honeymoon period was too short lived after the previous season’s defeats.
Irving was an obvious target for criticism as Dallas finished 11th in the West and completely missed the Play-In.
Behind closed doors, Mavericks executives fretted about the team’s future, about Irving’s impending free agency and even about Dončić’s long-term trust in the franchise. Though Dončić said after the last game there was “nothing to worry about” regarding his future in Dallas, he admitted “some things (have) to change, for sure.” Mark Cuban, still the team’s majority owner, said late in the season that the team had “to earn (Dončić’s loyalty).”
When Dončić sat down for his final media appearance of the season at the American Airlines Center, he was alone.
Not only was Irving not beside him, but the unrestricted free agent had already left the building, skipping his final chat with reporters entirely to disappear into his summer. He had made no commitment to return to Dallas, who had traded two starters and an unprotected future first-round pick for him two months earlier. Dončić wanted Irving back and said it. “We’ve got to make it work,” he had said when the trade first happened. He knew it took time and off-court trust. When the season ended so dismally two short months later, the duo had played only 16 games together. It really wasn’t much more than meet-and-greet. Despite those demoralizing defeats, Dončić had seen enough on-court moments of genius to convince him the partnership could work. Dallas had, too. The team understood Irving had little to do with its collapse. Rather, it was ongoing roster issues — a lack of talent around those two, really — that doomed those final months. The franchise also knew its coach, Jason Kidd, had Irving’s respect since meeting him in Kidd’s own playing days, and Nico Harrison, its general manager, also had a preexisting relationship with Irving from his time as a Nike executive. The belief in this team was once again confirmed on July 1, the first day of free agency, when Irving agreed to a three-year contract worth $126 million to return. “When you have Hall of Fame players,” Shammgod said, “how can it not work?” Three months later, Irving boarded the plane to begin the team’s international preseason tour to Abu Dhabi and Madrid. It was during this preseason trip that the two superstars’ relationship began to sprout into a brotherhood that will bond them for life.