Mavericks rumors: Longtime teammate believes Kyrie Irving is staying in Dallas

According to owner Mark Cuban, re-signing Kyrie Irving is the Dallas Mavericks' top priority this summer.

Irving is the first true superstar that Luka Doncic has played with, and Dallas has to keep Doncic happy to give them the best chance to keep him a Maverick for the foreseeable future. The front office is optimistic that Kyrie will return, but what about the players?

One Mavericks player that thinks Irving will stay happens to be someone that played with him before both arrived in Dallas and is a close friend.

Mavericks rumors: Longtime teammate believes Kyrie Irving is staying in Dallas

That player is Mavericks guard Theo Pinson.

Pinson and Irving played together in Brooklyn for one season before reuniting this season in Dallas. He was excited when Irving was traded to the team in February and now has a hunch that will excite Mavericks fans.

Pinson hosts a podcast with his close friend AJ Richardson called Run Your Race where he talked about the possibility of Irving coming back and his personal thoughts about Irving's time in Dallas.

"Hopefully Kai (Kyrie Irving) decides to come back, which I think so," Pinson said. "Only time can tell. That's a special duo. Put some good pieces around them and I think it could be something special."

This statement by Pinson isn't something that confirms Irving's return, but it's definitely something to keep your eye on as the Mavericks look to keep their superstar duo intact. Pinson later touched on the team's feelings about having Irving in a segment about Jalen Brunson, and how the team must prioritize getting Irving's deal done this summer.

"We are happy with Kyrie," Pinson said. "Ecstatic. We need him. First priority. We need to get that done."

Stay tuned to see if the Dallas Mavericks re-sign Irving this summer and how they decide to build the rest of their team around their superstar duo. Irving is expected to test the waters in free agency, but according to Pinson, he thinks the star guard is staying in Dallas.