Point guard Kyrie Irving offered a response rooted in patience to a question about whether he would return from his ACL tear in time for the playoffs.

Irving had to deal with the after-effects of the Luka Doncic trade, doing his part to keep the Mavericks on the right path before going down with a season-ending ACL injury in March. A year after leading Dallas to the finals, Irving was forced to watch from the sidelines as his team was eliminated in the NBA play-in.

As the team looks to compete in a tough Western Conference next season, it desperately needs some injury luck. While the Mavericks need guys like Davis to stay healthy, their hopes truly hinge on Kyrie Irving becoming healthy again.