28,000,000 ex-NBA champ paints bleak picture for Mavericks after Kyrie Irving goes down with devastating injury

Injuries have been an unwanted theme for the Dallas Mavericks this season, with Kyrie Irving being the latest victim. Following the star guard's knee injury, one analyst didn't hold back his true thoughts on how they should finish the year.

Following the Luka Doncic trade, all eyes were on the Mavs to see how they'd perform with their new-look roster. It remains unclear, as Anthony Davis got hurt in his debut and hasn't been in action again since. Dallas now finds themselves without their other star after Irving suffered a knee injury Monday night.

While appearing on ESPN's Get Up Tuesday, Kendrick Perkins reflected on the Mavericks amid their current injury situation. With Davis and Irving both not 100%, he thinks they should shut everyone down for the rest of the season.

"If you don't have a healthy Anthony Davis and a healthy Kyrie Irving, there's no reason to try and finish the season at a strong level," Perkins said. "At the end of the day, this season is over."

Perkins is well aware of what it takes to win an NBA title, having been part of a championship team with the Boston Celtics in 2008. Since retiring in 2018, the $28 million big man (per Celebrity Net Worth) has transitioned into a career as a TV analyst.

With 20 games to go on the schedule, the Mavs find themselves in 10th place in the Western Conference with a 32-30 record.

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Mavericks fans show love to Kyrie Irving following knee injury vs Kings

The Mavericks season took a drastic turn for the worst in the opening quarter against the Sacramento Kings Monday night. Despite being one of the more frustrated fanbases in the league, the home crowd showed a lot of admoration for Kyrie Irving.

Just nine minutes into the game, Irving appears to suffer a knee injury while driving to the basket through a sea of Kings defenders. After spending a couple of minutes off the ground, he was eventually helped off the court. That wouldn't be the last of Irving for the night though.

Similar to Kobe Bryant when he tore his Achilles tendon, Irving came back out to shoot his free-throws before leaving the game for good. In the midst of this, Mavericks fans showered the star guard with love for his efforts. While setting up at the free-throw line, Irving was met with MVP chants from the home crowd.

When Doncic was dealt to the LA Lakers, Irving found himself tasked with leading the charge for Dallas. He stepped up in a big way, averaging 27.8 points and 4.2 assists in the month of February. Following this injury, Dallas now finds itself without either member of its new star duo.

At the time this is being written, there have been no updates regarding the severity of Irving's knee injury. It remains unclear how long he'll be sidelined as he begins his road to recovery.