Brewing Nico Harrison drama invades Mavericks before season begins

One of the biggest questions that will persist throughout the regular season for the Dallas Mavericks will be when Kyrie Irving returns to the hardwood. Since tearing his ACL on March 3 and receiving surgery to repair his knee at the end of March, Irving's timetable for return has been a huge talking point, and could quite literally dictate the ceiling of the Mavericks' regular season.

While there have been plenty of contradicting reports and multiple videos of Irving's workouts that have gotten fans stirred up about his return, Jason Kidd ultimately said that the former champion is not ahead of schedule for basketball activities on Monday's media day. Not only does this completely put to bed fan theories that Irving could return by Christmas, but Kidd's comments completely contradict Nico Harrison's earlier report during Summer League.

In a media availability during a Las Vegas Summer League broadcast, Harrison said that he believes Irving is ahead of schedule with his rehab process. Kidd's comments not only prove Harrison could've been making this up, but his comments may be shining a light on drama that could potentially be brewing within Dallas' organization.

Kidd's contradiction of Harrison may show underlying drama in Dallas

Since trading away Luka Doncic in February, many fans speculated that there could be some friction within the Mavericks organization after Harrison seemingly took full power over the team. Not only would Harrison's power be put into check shortly after that, but in a press conference just one day after packing Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, Harrison and Kidd conducted a media availability where Kidd did not look pleased with Harrison.

It would be safe to assume that going behind everyone's back and trading away Doncic with little to no notice would be grounds for ending a partnership, but Kidd may finally be showing his true colors. There have been plenty of contradicting reports when it comes to Irving's health, but going public and seemingly labeling Harrison as wrong is something that may need to be looked into more.

Giving the benefit of the doubt to the situation at hand, it is way too early to fully determine when Irving can return to basketball activities. With that being said, teams typically have a narrative that they stick with as a group, and that doesn't appear to be the case with the Mavericks.

Kidd could have simply been trying to tone down the Irving noise before training camp started to eliminate any distractions around the team, but it's hard to imagine the Mavericks would not have discussed how they would talk about Irving's situation before media day.

The Mavericks will have plenty of roster decisions to cut out during the few-week-long training camp and preseason process, but Kidd not labeling Irving as ahead of schedule could be worrisome for a team desperate for star power. The likeliest of indications of when Irving can fully return to an NBA floor would be by the All-Star break, but it could already be too late for the Mavericks if they are trying to make another push towards the playoffs.

Dallas will need plenty of help at the guard position, and the lack of star power throughout the roster will hold weight throughout a lengthy regular season. With Irving, the Mavericks could be sure-fire playoff picks in the Western Conference, but given the situation at hand, Dallas will be gasping for air in a loaded conference.