“I think he’s just happy” - Jason Kidd sheds light on Kyrie Irving’s tenure with Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd shares quite a unique relationship with Kyrie Irving, the team’s other co-superstar besides Luka Doncic. Kidd and Irving have two of the best handles in NBA history and remarkably have the same birthdays. “Uncle Drew” is exactly 19 years younger than the Hall of Famer and both have known each other for nearly two decades now.

Kidd was adamant that Irving would flourish in Dallas after the eccentric point guard’s infamous stops with the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets. The two were consistently trolled last year when the Mavericks’ season collapsed as Doncic compared the team’s defense to a sieve. It wasn’t lost on anyone that Dorian Finney-Smith, the Mavs’ best defensive player was the centerpiece of the trade that landed Irving.

Besides the inept defense, even some Mavericks fans were wary of how Kyrie Irving could affect the locker room considering his not-so-shiny reputation. Those worries have been unfounded since the 2016 champ teamed up with the Slovenian maestro under Jason Kidd. Irving has been a model citizen in every possible way for the Mavericks.

Kidd had this to say about the change in Kyrie Irving via Eddie Sefko:

“But you can see, he’s smiling, he’s happy and he’s been that way, I think, since he arrived last year at the trade deadline. I thought you saw that he was happy and at peace. And he’s been very consistent with that to this point. I think he’s just happy.”

The Dallas Mavericks also had to rebuild the roster around their two superstars, which should be partly the reason why Irving is smiling more often. Nobody likes losing, particularly for players as competitive as Irving and Doncic are. The much-maligned defense got a boost with the arrival of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford in separate trades. But more importantly, LeBron James’ former sidekick has been in the headlines for the right reasons.

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Jason Kidd lauds Kyrie Irving for his electric Game 6 performance against Clippers

Kyrie Irving had two points after 24 minutes in Game 6 of the Dallas Mavericks’ closeout matchup against the LA Clippers on Friday. The physical and chippy showdown was tied at 52-52 leading into the second half. With Luka Doncic having a rough shooting night, which was likely due to a knee injury, Jason Kidd needed “Uncle Drew” to step up.

Irving did not disappoint Kidd and his teammates with an electric second-half performance where he dropped 28 of his 30 points. From a back-and-forth affair, the Mavericks blew open the game in the third quarter behind Irving’s quickness, relentlessness and immunity to pressure-cooker situations.

This is likely the Mavericks Jason Kidd envisioned when they traded for Kyrie Irving last year. The same thought was on his mind and Mark Cuban’s when they signed him to an extension despite the tepid market for the point guard. Kidd knows what Irving can do and believes the basketball star is just happy.