With NBA free agency opening up on Friday, many expect for Kyrie Irving to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks at some point, but Irving is reportedly going to go on visits to find his next destination, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
“Well, how do you get a max contract? You create leverage,” Shelburne said on NBA Today. “From what I'm told from sources close to the situation, he intends to take meetings when free agency opens. Now, they have widely held expectations that he returns to Dallas, what that contract looks like, and what happens when these meetings that he intends to take when free agency opens is going to be very interesting.”
Kyrie Irving is reportedly looking to spend the remainder of his career with the next team he signs with, and he wants to get that sense when he visits that team in free agency.
“What's important to Kyrie Irving? From what I'm told, he wants to find a place where he can spend the rest of his career, the place that feels like home,” Shelburne said on NBA Today. And that's an interesting thing for a guy like Kyrie who is approaching a free agency where it's not really a lock for him to get that five-year max like the Dallas Mavericks are positioned to give him.”
The Mavericks are in a good position to retain Irving, but it is not a done deal. The motivation reportedly remains for Dallas as well. It will be interesting to track Irving's free agency and the amount of interest he gets when things start on Friday.