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Kyrie: Her name is HIND RAJAB💐🌷 🤞🏾🪶♾❤️ And She was more brave than every single one of you at ESPN
Kyrie Irving: I’ll take care of his fine. Aaron Wilson: #Texans Pro Bowl middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair fined $11,492 for unauthorized message on eye black Sunday vs. #Bills Hind Rajab was a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli military firing several bullets along with six family members in Gaza City on January 29, 2024. Audio recordings of Hind calling for help sparked international outrage. In August, Israeli military confirmed soldiers fired on the vehicle and ordered an internal criminal investigation into the incident. Al-Shaair was previously fined $11,593
They've technically been teammates. But this will be the first time that Cooper and Kyrie will be playing together once he returns. How do you see that fit overall, given both players' skillsets and the work that Coop has put in this offseason? MacKenzie: "We're all really optimistic about that. Kyrie and Cooper have had an opportunity to spend a little time together this offseason. Obviously, they are two very high-IQ basketball players. I think they complement each other really well. I know that Kyrie has a ton of respect for the player that Cooper is. Just like Coach May, he wants to continue to help Cooper take that next step in his career. I think that there are very positive things to look forward to, hopefully with the on-court chemistry with those two. Cooper was able to spend quite a bit of time last season with Kyrie. Although Kyrie wasn't able to play, he was able to be somewhat of a mentor off the court, on the bench and around the practice facility. Obviously, we've all been excited to see what that chemistry will look like on the floor. They've had a chance to spend some time together on the court and in workouts when they've played pickup a little bit. I think they really enjoyed playing with each other. I think we're going to be able to see that joy come October and November."
“We'll have to wait and see how they all come together, obviously, with the new coach, with a new system, and a new coach. How is he going to transition? I've heard great things about him; about his leadership, about his work ethic, about how he approaches and talks to the guys. I think he'll be loved by the players,” Nowitzki said. “But it'll be interesting to see. What kind of plays is he running? What kind of system is he establishing — how does he want to play? But the big thing is, obviously, Kyrie coming back after a whole year off. “I've seen some clips on social media in the last few weeks. He looks great. He looks shifty. He still looks explosive. To see Kyrie with Coop sharing the court will be super, super exciting. He kept some veterans around. He got some new players. You need to have Lively healthy, obviously; that's a big key. But I think they got some nice pieces. If they execute well with Kyrie and Coop on the court, that could be a dangerous combo.”
The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to get back into championship contention and have built a roster around superstar Luka Doncic that they believe gets them closer to that goal. Doncic has made it to the NBA Finals before, leading the Dallas Mavericks there in 2024, though they would fall in five games to the Boston Celtics. There are some who question this Lakers roster and whether it can compete at the highest level with the best teams in the league. But NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley believes this Lakers team is just as good as the Mavericks squad Doncic led to the Finals.
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“I really want to see the Lakers do well,” Barkley said on the Bill Simmons podcast. “First of all, I’m a big Luka fan, a big Austin Reaves fan. I think they’re gonna be better than people realize. Luka and Kyrie took the Mavs to the Finals, come on, man. This team is probably better; this team is probably just as good as that team.”
Teams across the league are intrigued by how, or if, the 34-year-old Kyrie Irving fits in the Mavericks' long-term plans as the franchise prioritizes building around its teenage prodigy. A healthy Irving, who has averaged 25.5 points and 5.1 assists per game in a Mavs uniform, could be a prime target for contenders before the trade deadline if new Dallas president Masai Ujiri is willing to engage in those discussions. -- Tim MacMahon
Irving tore the ACL in his left knee against the Sacramento Kings and underwent reconstruction surgery later that month. Dallas ruled him out for the entire 2025-26 season in February. The nine-time All-Star turned 34 in March. Irving’s IQ is the piece May wants passed down to the young core. “I’ve been a part of a couple workouts with Kyrie,” May said. “I’ve watched him work out on his own and I’ve watched him play pickup, and then I’ve gotten feedback from others that have watched him play recently, and I couldn’t be more excited to be on his team. I’ve been blown away.” “We all know how talented Kyrie is with the ball in his hands,” May continued. “But to see his level of preparation, attention to detail, and IQ, it’s something that I’ve never seen at the level that he works at. And I can’t wait for him to share that with the rest of our group, especially the young core that we have.”
“I’ve been a part of a couple workouts with Kyrie,” May said. “I’ve watched him work out on his own and I’ve watched him play pickup, and then I’ve gotten feedback from others that have watched him play recently, and I couldn’t be more excited to be on his team. I’ve been blown away.” “We all know how talented Kyrie is with the ball in his hands,” May continued. “But to see his level of preparation, attention to detail, and IQ, it’s something that I’ve never seen at the level that he works at. And I can’t wait for him to share that with the rest of our group, especially the young core that we have.”
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Kyrie Irving has a $42 million player option in 2027-28, and him getting dealt to a contender might rest on a handshake deal (like James Harden in Cleveland) on the option year. Western Conference executive: “If you have some sense that, OK, we pay him $40 million this year, and next year he opts out and we can do a two-year deal or a three year deal at a lesser number, then I think you can do something. If he comes back and he is scoring 24, 25 points (per game), then you will have teams willing to give up a first-round pick for him. Maybe more, maybe a young player, too. But with his injury history, I don’t think you give up more than one first.”
Kevin Durant appears to be doubling down on his Golden State Warriors slander … though it’s not actually that simple. A few weeks after saying the 2026 Philadelphia 76ers are more talented — on paper — than the championship-winning Warriors teams on which Durant played, he appeared to throw the Warriors under the bus again in an interview at the Boardroom. When asked to name the best team — on paper — for which he played, Durant initially responded with the Brooklyn Nets. As Durant explained in the clip, the amount of talent and accomplishments on that team were tough to beat. After naming members of the Nets — including Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul Millsap, Patty Miles — Durant said, “We had the names on that team. He then explained why he didn’t think his Warriors teams qualified. “I know people are going to say, ‘the Warriors, you had Steph and Klay.’ But I’m like, when you look at that team, though. At the time, Steph was an MVP but Klay and Draymond didn’t get the accolades at that time. They were like one-time All-Stars. “These [Nets players] I’m talking about already completed their careers, damn near, and got all of their accolades on top of me, James and Kyrie. So when you’re just putting accolades on the table, I would say that team.”
That’s the same argument he made when comparing his Warriors’ teams to the 2026 76ers. Unfortunately, Durant also seemed to anger Klay Thompson with his explanation. Except … upon more reflection, Durant realized he actually picked the wrong team. “Obviously, the best team I played on was the Warriors. I want to say the 2019 team was crazy, but we got hurt. With Cousins at the five, that’s probably the best team I’ve been a part of on paper.” Durant said that team didn’t come to mind initially because he forgot Cousins was on it. Cousins missed a fair amount of time during the 2018-19 NBA season, which explained why he initially dismissed the Warriors.
NBA Trade Machine: Kyrie Irving was involved in 3.6% of all trades built on HoopsMatic over the past 24 hours. Of those, his top destinations were Miami (24.1%), Boston (14.8%), and Orlando (13.0%). Players traded for him most often: Davion Mitchell (16.7%), Dru Smith (16.7%), and Nikola Jovic (14.8%).
