By james art Kyrie Irving preparing to lead Dallas Mavericks along with Luka Doncic and Klay Thompson in the pressure for NBA Finals after losing to the Boston Celtics last season. Now 32, Irving knows his playing career is coming to an end, but he has a clear stance on whether coaching is in his future.
After a recent Mavs practice, Irving revealed a surprising reason why coaching at the NBA level isn’t in the cards for him. “Yeah, I don’t know if I’m going to train at that level, man,” Irving said. “I’m more like a consultant.“
“I like to set my own working hours,” he added. “If you know my personality, I don’t try to be forced to do anything, man. You tell me I have to show up at 9am, I’m like… maybe 9:08 or something.
Irving also gave some insight into his plans for life after basketball. “After I finish, I will definitely have one of the best academies of all time. You know, skill training, mental, spiritual, emotional,“ Irving stated. “And just get a lot of experts not only in basketball, but in different fields.
Kyrie Irving #11 of the Dallas Mavericks dribbles during the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. Elsa/Getty Images
He specified “I’m just putting a lot of young together, a lot of young old heads, old heads bringing them back, making sure I’m paying homage to the legends. After basketball, it will be a lot of fun, but right now I’m enjoying it just as much.”
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In an interview with Mark Stein on DLLS Mavshead coach Jason Kidd expressed his belief that Irving is ready to improve his game this season. “[Kyrie Irving] he really loved being in Dallas,” Kidd said. “He loves the situation. He respects [general manager Nico Harrison] and myself.”
“He wants to win and I think you saw that in the numbers he put up,” Kidd continued. “You can see that in training camp. He does all the reps [and] he doesn’t want to stay outside. I think you’re going to see an even better Kyrie this season.”
Last season, Irving played an important role for the Mavericks in both the regular season and the playoffs, but fans are eager to see him step up another notch after the tough Finals loss to Boston.