The Lone Rangers are currently ranked 11th in the West after three consecutive defeats, and the team's morale has completely fallen to a low point. The contradiction between the stars Doncic and Irving has also been put on the table by many. Even in the game, because of Irving's defensive problems, he was yelled at by Doncic, and Irving himself was not to be outdone, hinting in front of the media that Doncic played too alone.
In terms of statistics alone, both of them are very good, Doncic can average 32.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 36.5 minutes per game, and in the middle of the season, Doncic has been the top five favorites on the MVP list with his excellent individual results and the record of the 4th team in the West. Irving's statistics are also not bad, playing 37.2 minutes for the Lone Ranger, scoring 27 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.1 steals. Such a terrifying backcourt two-gun combination, 11 losses in 15 games, did not play tacit understanding and cooperation at all.
The mid-season deal for the Lone Rangers is also considered the worst deal of the season, after the Mavericks were No. 4 in the West and one of the favourites to win the championship. And after the trade, the Lone Ranger has fallen all the way down, has fallen to the West 11, and is likely not able to enter the play-offs and fish directly. On the other hand, the Lakers, after trading Wilson in the middle of the season, went from 13th in the West all the way to 7th in the West, and the comparison between the two is simply a world of difference.
In fact, according to Irving's past performance, after joining the Lone Ranger, Irving can be regarded as restricting his little nature, and the Lone Ranger is also considered qualified to know that when he was in the Nets before, Irving wanted to rest and play, and there was no team discipline at all. Falling flowers are intentionally ruthless, the Lone Ranger is Doncic's team, Irving came and wanted to play according to his previous style, it is definitely not good, the two also put the contradiction on the field because of the ball problem, you can often see Doncic playing one, Irving playing one, and there is very little cooperation between the two sides.
Although the deal failed, the Lone Ranger still wants to renew Irving's contract, seeking to make up for it in next year's trade market and change some reinforcement plan that suits him. When there was no way to trade Irving, the Lone Ranger also paid a lot, not only Dinwiddie, but also defensive hero Finney Smith and a first round and two second rounds, if you let Irving go like this, it is really a loss to the grandmother's family. But surprisingly, Irving has rejected the Lone Ranger's request to renew his contract, clearly wanting to test the free market and see where to play in the new season.
This approach undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to the Lone Ranger, you know, if the Lone Ranger cannot renew Irving's previous troubles to trade, it means that this season has paid so many chips in vain, and more importantly, the Lone Ranger has no way to expand his total salary, which means that there is a hard salary cap to prevent the Lone Ranger.
The ripple effect is that if the Lone Ranger does not have enough salary space to recruit, it means that he completely loses the possibility of impacting the championship, which Doncic cannot tolerate, and it is likely that he will follow suit.