The bank account for Duke basketball standout Kyrie Irving has grown.
It felt like a guessing game as to what type of contract Duke basketball guard Kyrie Irving would get once free agency opened at the end of the month but it didn’t take long to find out.
Shortly after 6:00p.m. EST on June 30, Irving inked a 3-year, $126 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
Dallas traded for the former Blue Devil at the NBA Trading Deadline last season from the Brooklyn Nets and was intent on keeping the 8-time All-Star after giving up many assets to land him.
However, nearly all of that contract is guaranteed, according to ESPN NBA front office insider Bobby Marks.
Marks reported over the weekend that Irving will receive $120 million guaranteed and the other $6 million will come from incentives based on how many games he played and the team’s success.
Kyrie Irving’s three-year deal is guaranteed for $120 million, sources tell ESPN. He has $6M in incentives tied to games played and team success.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 8, 2023
Irving played in 20 games for the Mavericks and averaged 27.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game for his new organization.
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He played 40 games for Brooklyn last season prior to the trade.
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Despite what many thought would be an outstanding pairing between Kyrie Irving and Dallas superstar Luka Doncic, the team was just 9-18 since Irving made his team debut on February 8.
The Mavericks were 8-12 in games the New Jersey native played.
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Dallas owner Mark Cuban said on Sirius XM NBA Radio that he expects Kyrie Irving to be a “long-term piece” and explained that he has been “misunderstood” in some of his public comments and actions.
"We traded for [Kyrie] because we wanted him to be a long-term piece"@mcuban tells @TheFrankIsola and @TermineRadio why the plan all along was to keep Kyrie with the @dallasmavs #MFFL pic.twitter.com/uzSqkRGkVe
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 11, 2023
Dallas is Irving’s third team since leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 offseason.
The Dallas Mavericks traded for Duke center Dereck Lively II during the 2023 NBA Draft after he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder and also brought back Seth Curry for another stint with the organization on a 2-year contract.