Shams: Kyrie torn ACL

[Ambrose]

I know it won't make Mavs fans feel any better but IMO this Kyrie injury would completely derail them even if Luka wasn't traded. With Kyrie out this year and possibly all of next year too, the Mavs aren't making any noise in the playoffs. What are the odds that Luka would even re-sign in 2026? I'd say slim to none. We also don't know this publicly but I'm pretty close to 100% sure that Luka was traded in the first place because he told the organization that he's leaving next year and they wanted to get something for him.

I'm not sure this happens if Luka's there though. Kyrie has been getting the Thibs treatment lately, and with Luka around, that doesn't happen.

[Homer38]

Read on Twitter

[Snakebites]

Imagine the Mavericks lose almost every game remaining now and they wind up with Flagg.

I’d almost root for that at this point.

Throw Mavs fans a bone.

[blueberrysticky]

[x][/x]

I know it won't make Mavs fans feel any better but IMO this Kyrie injury would completely derail them even if Luka wasn't traded. With Kyrie out this year and possibly all of next year too, the Mavs aren't making any noise in the playoffs. What are the odds that Luka would even re-sign in 2026? I'd say slim to none. We also don't know this publicly but I'm pretty close to 100% sure that Luka was traded in the first place because he told the organization that he's leaving next year and they wanted to get something for him.

I'm not sure this happens if Luka's there though. Kyrie has been getting the Thibs treatment lately, and with Luka around, that doesn't happen.

Exactly no fluke that Kyrie was his healthiest when playing with Luka controlling the ball. And probably his happiest

[XTC]

How long until Nico calls Kyrie fat, and a defensive liability because they don't want to offer him a contract?

[ConSarnit]

Damn. That's a huge loss for the Mavs and especially so after having traded Doncic (in addition to no time table for the return of Davis). This is especially big for a player like Irving you uses speed and explosiveness to be as elusive as he is. An ACL injury has been known to sometimes rob players of their ability to play the same as they had pre injury.

Godspeed on a healthy recovery, Kyrie.

I would also add: does this injury even happen if Luka is on the team? Kyrie has played the most minutes of anyone in the league over the past month. By trading Luka the Mavs basically put all shot creation on Kyrie, someone who doesn’t exactly have the cleanest health record. Putting all that responsibility on a 32 year old guard was never wise to begin with.

it was a freak accident. There's no way to say one way or another whether this happens if Doncic is still on the roster.

Post Luka they where playing Kyrie a league leading 39.3 MPG. This is 100% on Nico and Jason Kidd for putting Kyrie in this situation.

Nico and Kidd have made some franchise crippling moves. Pre Luka injury they where sitting 2nd in the west, and they made the finals 8 months ago. Absolutely bonkers.

It was one of the more under discussed dumber parts of the trade. Kyrie is a great player but Kyrie driven offenses haven’t worked. Add that fact to his durability issues and the Mavs were playing with fire by putting all of the responsibility on Irving. It’s just a compete misunderstanding by Nico of who Kyrie is as a player and what type of role he excels in.

[Jadoogar]

all Nico jokes aside, this really sucks. Kyrie is a really fun player to watch. I'm not really sure where Dallas goes from here

[NYPiston]

From trading a generational talent at his peak for an oft injured much older AD to all the nonsensical justifications Harrison was making in his presser to having the nerve to raise ticket prices after trading away the franchise to now losing Kyrie to an ACL tear.
This was a clinic on How to Destroy a Franchise in a Month 101. The last one wasn't their fault but still...

[Mrakar]

Nico Harrisson foresaw this and traded his assets for future ones. Oh wait, his 'future assets' are older than his former ones—scratch that... **** (Please Use More Appropriate Word) ****.
This is what happens when you put too much load on injury prone player. Guy had to carry whole offense for couple of weeks and this happens. His body is just not built for that as good of a player he is.

[Marvin Martian]

Imagine the Mavericks lose almost every game remaining now and they wind up with Flagg.

I’d almost root for that at this point.

Throw Mavs fans a bone.

Getting Flagg is pointless because ownership will find a way to screw it up

[aliasxn]

Damn, Mavs are cursed

[dockingsched]

Read on Twitter

Oh I see this angle is going to start getting a push from the media, it’s not exactly wrong.

I remember this exact same thing of crazy high minutes occurred right before Kobe tore his Achilles. The huge minutes he was playing to try to get the lakers in the playoffs became the headline.

[Memories]

old injury prone core of AD/Klay/Kyrie.....what could go wrong. They had a few years of contention, 1 of those years is already out the window. I was rooting for them though, don't want to sound like a hater.

I just have a weird feeling that they're going to make a run at Durant and turn into the 2013 Nets.

Mavs have no assets.

They’ll get desperate and trade PJ Washington, Gafford, Klay and Lively.

…they will make a 3 way deal though and Lively gets sent to the Lakers.

[TheGeneral99]

If anyone has watched mavs game post Luka trade…..

Kyrie has to shoulder now all the ball handling and creating. All the minutes and all the usage.

That’s injury risk. Now LeBron enjoys that comfort

Nico is a moron. You don’t trade the elite playmakers/ball handlers in their prime

Not just an elite playermaker/ball handler but one of the most elite iso scorers in the game.

Last year, Luka averaged 34ppg on 48%fg and 39%3fg last year while getting to the line 9 times a game...that's as elite as any great scorer in NBA history and on par with guys like MJ, Lebron, Durant, Kobe, Curry etc.

[Homer38]

Read on Twitter

Oh I see this angle is going to start getting a push from the media, it’s not exactly wrong.

I remember this exact same thing of crazy high minutes occurred right before Kobe tore his Achilles. The huge minutes he was playing to try to get the lakers in the playoffs became the headline.

I remember that for Kobe....He was playing like 45 minutes per game for 2-3 week and the lakers were a fast pace team at that time under Mike D'Antoni too,like top 5 in pace....It was the only reason why Kobe tore his achilles

[Airmiess]

If im Silver I would have to give Mavs Cooper Flagg in order to salvage the franchise , even though they don't deserve it.

[picc]

Yeah this likely doesnt happen if Luka isnt traded. Kai isnt playing the big minutes he was playing, he isnt carrying the load he was carrying, and of course he wouldnt be in the same position, purely geographically, as he was in to get hurt if the team was that different.

Could he still have got hurt sometime? Sure. But he factually wouldnt have been in the same position to get hurt as he was last night.

Its not a coincidence this happened soon after a trade that made him a high minute primary ballhandler.

I feel so bad for Mavs fans. I dont know any restaurant in Dallas even allows Nico Harrison to eat there. If I was head chef i’d walk up to the table and wipe his dishware off the table like an 80s movie finance CEO clearing his desk to bang the secretary. That guy should be run out of the city.

But the worst part is that he prob wouldnt care. I dont think he cares about basketball or the Mavs, or their fans. He’s just a businessman at the end of the day.

[Archx]

Nico was talking about certain player taking too long vacations... well, wonder what he will say about the "new culture Mavs" and Kyrie now taking even longer vacation.

[Bobbymcgee]

Klay Thompson's team now.

[akula1488]

which franchise fanbase suffers the most right now?

Philly with two of the worst contracts in the league, the future is bleak.
PHX also doesn't have a lot of future assets with the other worst contracts, need to break their core.
Dallas that traded their fan favorite young cornerstone stud for a short contention window that is gone now, also few future assets.