Dallas Mavericks acquisition Kyrie Irving does not want to be constantly asked about committing long term to his new franchise, which he says is "very emotionally draining".
Irving was unveiled by the Mavericks to Dallas media alongside Markieff Morris following their trades from the Brooklyn Nets prior to their home debuts against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
The Mavericks have made it clear their move for Irving was geared towards chasing an elusive NBA title and the 30-year-old point guard proactively requested that reporters not ask him about his future beyond this season.
"It puts unwarranted distractions on us and our team," Irving told reporters. "I've dealt with it before, and it's very emotionally draining to ask questions like, 'What's the long term? What's the long term?'
"I will say that from the start, from when I came here, there's been nothing but a warm embrace, nothing but genuine love and nothing but a familiarity of relationships that I can really look to in times of questioning or confusion.
"There's just a positive note there. I'm just taking it one day at a time. That's all I can do in this life.
"What the future holds is really only going to be dictated on what I do right now and how I prepare for those next steps, and that's being the best teammate that I can be in that locker room and a great leader out here and within the Dallas community and within the NBA. I'll just continue to be myself.
"I'm just putting that to bed and just focusing on what we have ahead of us as a team."
Irving has started life with the Mavs well, averaging 25.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.3 assists across three games where they have won two.
The eight-time All-Star's acquisition does come with question marks given the off-court issues he has caused over the past few years, but Mavs general manager Nico Harrison downplayed any risk.
"I don't see any risk involved," said Harrison, whose relationship with Irving dates back to high school. "I've known Kyrie for a long time. I know his core. I know what kind of person that he is.
"I think anybody that's ever watched him play basketball knows the type of basketball player he is. I don't see the risk involved. I actually see the risk in not doing the deal."
Rockets' Porter arrested, charged with assault of his girlfriend
Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested Monday and charged with assault and strangulation of his girlfriend.
Porter and his girlfriend were staying at the Millennium Hotel in New York, and per a police report, she was upset he returned early in the morning and locked him out of the room.
Porter was able to gain access to the room with the help of hotel security, and he then assaulted her, according to the report.
At 6:45 a.m., police responded to a 911 call accusing Porter of assault and after an investigation, the police arrested the 23-year-old with the felony charges of assault and strangulation.
"Upon arrival officers were informed that a 26-year-old female sustained a laceration to the right side of her face and was complaining about pain to her neck," a police spokesperson said. "A preliminary investigation on scene determined that a known individual struck her multiple times upon her body and placed his hands around the neck."
The woman, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, was taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation.
The Rockets issued a statement following the arrest to ESPN.
"We are in the process of gathering information surrounding the matter involving Kevin Porter Jr.," the statement read. "We have no further comment at this time."
Porter was second on the Rockets in scoring last season with a career-high average of 19.2 points per game while averaging a team-best 5.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds.
He is entering his fifth season in the NBA and fourth in Houston after spending his 2019-20 rookie season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Selected 30th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2019 draft, Porter was traded to the Cavs and sat out the beginning of the 2020-21 season following an investigation of a single-car crash.
Cleveland ended up trading him to Houston in January 2021 after he incited an outburst in the locker room with team officials.
NBA fines Harden $100,000 for disparaging comments made about 76ers
James Harden didn't hold back in besmirching the Philadelphia 76ers, and now it's going to cost him.
The NBA fined Harden $100,000 on Tuesday for comments he made about his status with the 76ers.
While Harden famously called 76ers team president Daryl Morey "a liar," the league is punishing the 2017-18 NBA MVP for publicly saying he would not perform the services called for under his player contract unless he was traded. The league confirmed with Harden that he berated Morey because he believed the 76ers would not grant his trade request.
A $100,000 fine is the maximum the NBA can fine a player.
Harden picked up his $35.6million player option for the 2023-24 season in late June with the understanding that Morey would work out a trade, according to reports.
It was reported last week that the 76ers told Harden's agent, Mike Silverman, that Morey was unable to find a trade for the 10-time All-Star and the franchise wouldn't deal him unless it could find a trade that would help the team contend for a championship.
That prompted Harden to blast Morey at a promotional event in China.
"Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organisation that he’s a part of," Harden said in a video that went viral last week. "Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organisation that he’s a part of."
The 76ers were reportedly involved in trade talks with both the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks, but nothing came about of those discussions.
Harden, who turns 34 on Saturday, was a solid complement to NBA MVP Joel Embiid this past season, averaging 21.0 points and a league-leading 10.7 assists to help the 76ers to the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia was knocked out in the conference semifinals for a second straight year after losing to the rival Boston Celtics in seven games, and Harden's play in the postseason was inconsistent. He had a pair of 40-point performances but averaged just 15.1 points on 30.0 per cent shooting with 8.4 assists in his other nine playoff games.
For his career, Harden has averaged 24.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.5 steals in exactly 1,000 regular-season games.
Bahamas defeats Argentina 82-75 to win FIBA Americas Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament
The Bahamas has never sent its men’s basketball team to the Olympics. The island nation is now one step closer to changing that.
Eric Gordon scored 27 points, Buddy Hield added 17 and Bahamas stunned Argentina 82-75 to win one of the five Olympic pre-qualifying tournaments that were wrapping up around the world Sunday.
The win sends Bahamas into another Olympic qualifying tournament in July 2024, one that will bring with it a chance to qualify for next summer’s Paris Games.
Deandre Ayton had 10 points and 21 rebounds for Bahamas in the win over Argentina.
Argentina, who took home Olympic gold in 2004, will miss the games for the first time since 2000.
Other pre-qualifying tournament winners Sunday included Cameroon, Bahrain, Croatia and Poland.
Next summer, Bahamas, Cameroon, Bahrain, Croatia and Poland will join 19 other teams — based on World Cup finish — in the final qualifying round. Those 24 nations will be split into four tournaments of six teams; the four winners go to the Paris Olympics.
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