This is EXACTLY what Mavericks fans wanted to hear...

Kyrie Irving has been the biggest trade rumor in the NBA for weeks, and this week he took it to his own locker room before anyone could ask anymore. His message to the team, these trade rumors, anything going on with me, do not let it infiltrate this locker room. Mavericks fans, we've been waiting all season for a signal like this. So this is exactly what Mavericks fans have wanted to hear, and now it's go time. First, where did this all start? Because the article, of course, doesn't mention a single reporter. Well, on October 28th, Sham Sharanya said the Heat are monitoring Irving and that a slew of teams are too. Then ESPN's Tim McMahon said Irving is the number one thing people ask about. Notice the word, monitoring, not pursuing, and nobody has reported any offer coming through the system. And Mark Stein on November 2nd, Dallas is not making him available and has told teams that since June. So why does noise still exist? Well, let's start with the calendar. Kyrie is 34 and he's turning 35. His contract has $42.4 million player option for 2027 and 2028, which means he can walk next summer. Rival executives have also questioned how he fits next to Cooper Flagg, and that kind of talk travels fast. Then there's the price. Shams said the Mavericks ask would likely be more than the one future first round pick that Miami has. Miami has already given up a pile of picks for Giannis, so even the team that's monitoring him, they have a real question to answer in their own life. Put it all together, and you get a veteran, an option, a big salary, and a loud inbox. That's the rumor machine that's going on, which is why what Kyrie said matters. Now, quick break here before we get to the rest of the show. This video is brought to you by Anson. Let's be real, guys. One of the best parts about watching sports, it's the food. Wings at a bar, burgers at a tailgate, or pizza on the couch while watching the Mavs. Nothing beats it. 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And because Anson Belt and Buckle is sponsoring today's video, when you click the link in the description or scan this QR code to build a box set, you're going to get two bonus pieces, a buckle and a strap completely free. You'll get three buckles and three straps that can be mixed and matched into nine unique different belt combos all in this one handy box. And this is a deal you don't want to miss out on. So click the link, build your set and upgrade your belt game today with Anson. Thank you to Anson, back to Kyrie, because this is the part that fans care about. Here is what Kyrie told reporters, and the key is who he told first, his teammates. He said, quote, I let the team know out of my mouth that these trade rumors, anything that is going on with me, do not let this infiltrate our locker room. Then he said they should not let external voices that don't support them unconditionally get in the way of what they have building here. And he has credited Dusty May for confronting the team when they're not living up to the standards. Now, let's be careful here. Kyrie did not say, I'm not leaving. Nowhere in the interview does he promise that, or anything beside that. But this is the closest thing that has come out of his mouth saying that he's in love with this place and that the next phase of his career is still being written right here in Dallas. He also said something that a lot of people have skipped over, that the trade mill, his name, and others is way too much and it affects people's mental health. That's a player who is tired of being the subject, not one who is planning an exit. And he said he heard a lot of noise before the season two and some of the predictions. So this has never been a one-day story. The noise has been there since before the first game, and the team has been playing through it. But a player who is angling for the door doesn't spend his press conference protecting the locker room. That tells you which way his head is. Now, here's the thing that fans forget. This is not the same Maverick front office from a few months ago. In fact, we're a year to the day that we fired Nico Harrison. Masai Ujiri now, of course, took over as the president. And then two weeks later, he fired head coach Jason Kidd. Dusty Mays, the new coach, and Kyrie went out of his way to praise him. You see that Dusty is doing a great job of confronting them when they are you know not doing things right or living up to the standards that the Mavericks have for themselves. That is not how a player talks when he's checked out. That's how a player talks when he's buying into a new system. And you can see that Kyrie, Koop, and Dusty, they're building a culture here in Dallas. And remember, the front office told teams in June that Irving is not available. Steins and the Mavs have told teams they don't even want to field your call. So the new bosses and the player are staying the same thing right now. That's a rare in a trade rumor a lot of times. In the floor, it's backing it up. Remember what the noise was predicting. Before a season, a lot of people expected a messy fit, a bruised locker room, and a quick exit. That is the story Kyrie was talking about avoiding. However, in his last five games, Kyrie is averaging 26.8 points a game and 18 a game before that stretch. Against Indiana on November 10th, the second night of a back-to-back, he played and scored 35 points, hit 7 of 10 threes, and was plus 29 in 38 minutes in the same night that Koop scored 40-plus. Dallas has now won three straight, 112-100 over Utah, 130-93 over Brooklyn, and 125-122 over Indiana and sits 7-4. Here's the Brooklyn game in numbers. 130 points for Dallas, 93 for Brooklyn, a 37-point win on November 9th. This is a team that is firing on all cylinders. In that game, Kyrie scored 21 points, which means the team didn't even need him to take over. And if it all wasn't smooth, I mean, on November 5th, Dallas lost to San Antonio 112 to 111. Kyrie did have 29 points and five threes in 36 minutes that night. A one-point loss on the road with a 29 from your guard is not a team that's coming apart. The offense is up, too. Dallas is 12th in the league in offensive rating, 114.7, after finishing 27th last season at 110.3. That's a jump of 15 spots, and it's a big part of why the locker room sounds the way it does. Kyrie is averaging 22.9 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.3 threes a game. 7-2 in the nine games he's played. And Walter Clayton Jr. has been a big piece of it. In 54 minutes together, Dallas has a net rating of plus 19.1 with the two of them on the floor. That's a team that has a reason to stay together, and Kyrie knows it. Last season's problems and this season's wins are the real answer to the rumors. Noise is loud, but a win is louder. So the room is calm, the offense is better, and the star is leading the way. That's the opposite of what the noise has promised. Let's go through all the rumors one at a time, because they don't all weigh the same, too. The Heat report is real, but the word is monitoring. Shams said Miami and a slew of other teams are monitoring Irving. Even the column that called Miami a comfortable fit but said nothing was imminent. Jake Fisher said back in June that he didn't believe Kyrie Irving would be on the roster opening night. Well, he was, and he played nine games since then. And there was a claim out of the Eurohoops that Dallas would trade him before the deadline. That came from one outlet, and it doesn't match Stein, who said the Mavs, they aren't making him available whatsoever. When the people who talk to the Mavs say one thing, and then the people who talk about the Mavs say another, I know which side I'm going to be weighing. Nobody has reported an offer. Nobody has reported a deal. We have some interest, and interest is not a trade. And guess what? The interest comes from outside the room. Now, to be fair in all this, front offices don't announce what they're doing. The Mavericks, they're not going to be a front office that's going to tell you what their decision is. And neither did the article. Kyrie's message is a statement to his room. It's not a guarantee that he'll be here in February, but it is the best sign we've gotten that he will. Now, here's the part that is still open. Kyrie's making $39.5 million this season. Next season, he has a $42.4 million player option. Wanting to stay and being locked in are two different things, and that option is where the real decision lives. So was it exactly what the Mavericks fans wanted to hear? Absolutely. It's the right message from the right guy at the right time. But at the end of the day, it's a message to the locker room, not a contract, not a guarantee. What keeps it quiet is winning basketball games. The Mavs have been doing that. We're not going to have to hear about these Kyrie trade rumors for much longer. Think about what the option really is. It's $42.4 million for 27-28, and it belongs to Kyrie, not the Mavericks. And if he's saying that he loves Dallas, what says he won't stay? So the Mavericks can say he isn't available all they want, but the final say will be him in the summer. That's why the message to the locker room is worth more than it sounds. He's choosing out loud to be part of what Dallas is building. And if the wins keep coming, the easiest answer for Kyrie is the one that fans want to hear. Now, if you're enjoying this, make sure you subscribe to the Mavericks Digest for free coverage of the Mavericks all year long. And let me know in the comments, do you think Kyrie will be staying here or do you think they'll end up trading him at some point? Let me know down in the comment section. So what are we actually watching from here after that message? First is the schedule. Dallas plays at Minnesota on November 13th and at home against Golden State on November 19th. Second, Kyrie's minutes. He played 38 against Indiana on the second night of a back-to-back, and he's 34. The Mavs will need to manage that at some point this season. Third, who talks. If Shams, McMahon, or Stein changes the word monitoring to something stronger, that's when something can matter. And last, the option. It stays unresolved. The question comes back every time Dallas loses a game, but for now, The message is clear, and the team is winning. Fans have every right to feel good, and me and you have exactly what we wanted to be hearing.