How would LeBron even get to the Warriors? These three paths work

Ahead of his first game against his former team, Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving had no regrets about how he left the Brooklyn Nets.

“I was never on bad terms with the organization,” Irving said. “I just think there was a lot of chaos and noise, as usual, from the media. I’m not going to blame you guys or anything, but nobody really knew what was going on behind the scenes. I’m sure that people have their sources they go to [about] what was going on and what really happened.”

Irving added that he’s happy to with the way things played out. He re-emphasized that he had no problem with the Nets as a team, but that’s he happy to be with the Mavericks.

“But for me, it was the best decision of my career to ask for a trade,” Irving said. “I knew I needed peace of mind.”

Derrick Jones Jr. signed with the Dallas Mavericks on a veteran minimum contract. He’s outplayed that deal to become a key starter for Dallas during their playoff run.

Now, Jones hopes to return to the Mavericks as a free agent, but understands the team is limited in what they can offer him.

“He loves his teammates, he loves Jason Kidd, he really likes the front office, (Mavericks president) Nico (Harrison) and Matt Riccardi,” Jones agent Aaron Turner said. “He wants to be back.”

Jones started in 66 of the 76 games he played this season. He averaged a career-high 8.6 points per game on 48% shooting, including a career-best 34% on three-pointers. In 10 playoff games, Jones has upped his scoring a bit to 8.9 points, while also adding 1.5 blocks per game.