Kyrie Irving backs Luka Doncic amid Mavericks' embarrassing stretch of disrespect

The last few weeks have been absolutely hectic for the Dallas Mavericks, and it all started when they traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis late into the night on February 1. No one expected Dallas to trade Doncic, and the NBA world has been in shock ever since as two of the best players in the NBA were traded for each other in the middle of the night without any rumors about the move being in the works.

Mavericks fans' shock about this move quickly turned into anger, as Dallas' window to win the NBA Finals shrunk from the duration of Doncic's career to the next three years or so. Nico Harrison is all in on winning right now with Davis and Kyrie Irving at the core, and a new era of Mavericks basketball has begun whether Mavericks fans like it or not.

While Mavericks fans were angry enough by the move itself, some things that have been said about Doncic since the trade by upper management and ownership have only made things worse. The morning after the trade went down, Nico Harrison alluded to Doncic being someone who doesn't add to the team's culture, and reports indicated that the team had serious concerns about his conditioning and ability to stay healthy moving forward.

Patrick Dumont also made his fair share of comments kicking Doncic on the way out since the trade, and he also alluded to Doncic not being a good fit into the culture and not being a hard worker. Dumont also made it clear that he thought the Mavericks were better after the trade than before it and threw Doncic under the bus more than he already had been. Doncic was the face of the city and beloved by all Mavericks fans, and the tone-deafness from the front office about this move has been overwhelmingly obvious from the minute the deal went down.

Irving thinks Mavericks have crossed the line with shaming Doncic

Dallas' approach to tarnish Doncic's name on the way out the door despite everything he gave to the city is something that fans didn't agree with, and it sounds like Doncic's former teammate and leader of the team, Irving, doesn't agree what has been said either.

In an interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews, Irving was asked about what upper management has had to say about Doncic since the trade, and he made it clear where he stands.

"Hopefully we can tailor back on some of the public criticism aspects of it and really just maintain the kindness and the compassion that we have for each other that's real every day," Irving said.

Irving talked about how he and Doncic got to know each other on and off the floor over the two years that they spent together as teammates, and it definitely sounds like he thinks the Mavericks should take a step back when it comes to the things that continue to get said about Doncic by anonymous and named sources.

Trashing Doncic's name on the way out doesn't help what they are going through, and it only makes Mavericks fans angrier. The fan base has not taken this decision lightly, and rather than the front office saying the right things to make this transition as smooth as possible, they have said all the wrong things and caused even more of an uproar in Dallas.

Irving has done everything he can to try to smooth things out when it comes to the fallout from this trade, as he has always shown love towards Doncic when asked about Dallas' decision to trade him, and he truly misses him. He is showing the upper management exactly how they should treat former players, and Irving has selflessly always built Doncic up rather than tearing him down.