{"id":205974,"date":"2025-10-11T18:02:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T18:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/205974\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T18:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T18:02:09","slug":"kyrie-irving-calls-out-nba-personalitys-take-on-mavericks-starter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/205974\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyrie Irving calls out NBA personality’s take on Mavericks starter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dallas Mavericks star point guard Kyrie Irving is still recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in March, and he could miss a good chunk of the season. In preparation for that, the Mavs signed former NBA All-Star D’Angelo Russell to hold down the starting spot until Irving returns. <\/p>\n

That has been met with mixed reviews, as Russell is coming off arguably the worst season of his career. He’s on a cheap deal, but not everyone is convinced that he’ll be good enough to help the Mavs contend, which is what they believe they can do. <\/p>\n

One such person is infamous NBA personality Bill Simmons<\/a>, who gave a truly incredible analogy about Russell on the latest episode of his podcast. \u201cHe\u2019s your buddy that comes to visit, and it\u2019s really great when he is only there for one day, and by day six, you\u2019re like, ‘Ah, I\u2019m ready for him to leave.’ That\u2019s D-Lo.”<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Sep 29, 2025; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard D’Angelo Russell (5) poses for a photo during the Mavericks 2025 media day at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images \/ Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Simmons isn’t wrong either. There’s a reason Russell is entering his 11th season, but on his 7th team. The Lakers tried trading him away multiple times over the last few seasons before they were finally able to dump him off to the Brooklyn Nets last year. Russell can be a good player, but he is also very frustrating to watch at times. Relying on him could be a mistake for the Mavs. <\/p>\n

READ MORE: How to Watch: Cooper Flagg faces Kon Knueppel in Mavericks’ second preseason game<\/a><\/p>\n

Irving wasn’t a fan of that take from Simmons, taking to X\/Twitter and saying, “Oh Bill, you would never say this to Dlo in person and we both know it.”<\/p>\n

Oh Bill, you would never say this to Dlo in person and we both know it. https:\/\/t.co\/Qb0Rj1sxP7<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/krThotZ5rN<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kyrie\ud83e\udd1e\ud83c\udffe (@KyrieIrving) October 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s a little bit of a weird call-out by Irving, as Simmons isn’t even calling Russell a bad player, but Irving is just standing up for his teammate. History has shown that he can’t be on one team for too long, especially when he’s been traded five times. It’d be different if he were leaving on his own accord in free agency. <\/p>\n

Russell signed a two-year deal worth about $12 million, which has a player option on the second year. If everything goes well, he’ll only be on the Mavericks for this season, unless they re-sign him to a bigger deal next offseason, which they don’t really have the money to do. He’s going to have to be a much better shooter than he was last season, but he did show his playmaking instincts in the first preseason game against the OKC Thunder. <\/p>\n

READ MORE: Proposed trade idea for 12-year veteran could be missing piece for Mavericks<\/a><\/p>\n

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