Irving thankful to get a training camp under his belt with Mavs

For Kyrie Irving, getting a training camp with the Mavericks is just what the doctor ordered.

A mercurial guard, Irving has exceptional talent, an extraordinary basketball IQ, is one of the best players in the world and is extra capable of taking over a game at any moment. Yet, Irving knew that when he was traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Mavs last Feb. 6, immediate success with his new team just wasn’t a realistic proposition.

“I just felt like last season we were under immense pressure,” Irving said. “A lot of people figured that me and Luka (Doncic) would be a one-two punch that would be in the playoffs and going up for the West Finals. But we just didn’t have the core group necessary around us, and I’m honest about that because it takes people jelling and it takes chemistry.

“As one of the leaders on the team coming in, I naturally took a back seat at times, and that’s not always in the best interest of the team. I need to stay aggressive on and off the court with my communication, and I was just looking forward to the opportunity this training camp to have that time.”

Now, Irving has that training camp.

After Irving signed a three-year free agent contract with the Mavs on July 7, he was more than looking forward to his first training camp with his new team. That’s because he knew a training camp is the perfect time when details can get resolved, bonding with new teammates can be hashed out, and players have a much better chance and more ample time of getting on the proverbial same page.

“Obviously last season there was a lot of noise surrounding me and there was a lot of perceptions that I walk into an organization that people are going to naturally have,” Irving said. “So, I had to break through that and really get to know people on a one-on-one basis or in a communal basis and settings that I can trust and be open.

“Coming to Dallas — or coming back to Dallas — it felt like it was time for me to take that next leap in my career and just not do so much talking, but do enough leading in the locker room and focus on what I can control with my teammates. I could say anything I want out here, but the only thing that’s going to matter is how we perform out there. So, it felt good to get started with training camp and now have a positive mindset heading into the regular season.”

Because of his grand stature as a player — along with the fact that he already has an NBA championship ring — Irving is expected to bring wholesale leadership qualities to the Mavs. But he added:

“I’m not alone in that pursuit of leadership, so I’m grateful for that. You know we have a lot of veteran leadership in our coaching staff. We have guys that have been on the Dallas Mavericks for a few years. They have a nice tight knit group, a core group and I just want to amplify that.

“I just want to bring that to the next level — kind of break down all of our comfort zones to a certain degree and have us really gel and peak at the right time. That’s the focus, man.”

During Friday’s 114-104 preseason victory over the Detroit Pistons, Irving produced 17 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists in just 27 workmanlike minutes. It was a solid all-around game he hopes will translate into the regular season, which starts Wednesday night in San Antonio when the Mavs battle the Spurs.

“I talked about it last year and it’s going to still be my carryover into this year just doing the little things — boxing out and paying attention to detail and making sure we’re staying locked into what our defensive core principles are,” Irving said. “It’s not a new system that I have to learn now, so it feels good being able to communicate to guys where they’re supposed to be.

“And then also accepting that mistakes are going to happen, especially in the beginning of the season with different lineup changes coming in and guys coming off injury. But I think if we get off to a good start that that’ll cover up for a lot of other mistakes when we can get wins on top of those. So, game to game, possession to possession, we just got to take it one (game) at a time.”

While taking it one game at a time, Irving took some solace when he was told Pistons coach Monty Williams said the Mavs have a roster that’s built for the playoffs and he expects them to make a deep run once the postseason starts next spring.

“I appreciate his compliment, but at the same time we have a ton of work to do,” Irving said. “This Western Conference is loaded. We see how teams are making moves even late into our preseason right now.

“If you’ve been watching preseason you can see guys are getting their bigs more involved and their guards are playing with a quicker pace. But for us to make a statement like that and hear a statement from Monty like that, that feels good.”

It also feels good for Irving that the start of the 82-game season is just mere days away.

“It’s a long marathon coming up,” he said. “I’m glad that preseason is officially done. It has been one of the longest in my career just with the traveling and stuff like that.

“But we all stuck it out together and I feel like we got closer on the trip and we’re going to continue to get closer throughout the season as we go through our bumps and bruises, naturally. But I’m looking forward to trying to get on the court and getting this season started and being led by guys and also guys leading me.”

SIZING UP WEMBANYAMA: Now that the preseason is over, it’s time for the Mavs to turn their attention to the San Antonio Spurs and their highly-touted rookie center, Victor Wembanyama.

The No. 1 overall pick in last June’s NBA Draft, Wembanyama stands 7-4 and creates all sort of problems inside the paint and on the perimeter. And that’s what the Mavs have to deal with right out of the gate as they open the regular season Wednesday night in San Antonio.

“He tends to win the jump balls,” coach Jason Kidd said of Wembanyama. “He’s everything that is the hype that’s been about a young player.

“San Antonio won the lottery in getting the No. 1 pick and getting Victor. In the summer league, he didn’t disappoint, in the preseason he hasn’t disappointed. So, a lot of good things that he has been doing up until this point, and now the season begins.”

The last rookie to generate this much excitement was LeBron James, who the Cleveland Cavaliers made the No. 1 overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft.

“He’s a great talent and he’s a great young player,” forward Derrick Jones Jr. said, referring to Wembanyama. “It’s going to be a task to be able to guard that as a unit.

“It’s not one man’s job to guard a player. It’s a team game and we’ve got to be out there playing defense as a team, and hopefully we can do our job.”

On playing against a team in a game that’s going to involve several members of the national media, Jones said: “I really don’t care, me personally. I’m a showman. Whenever I’m out there I’m trying to put on a show for the fans, and that’s what they’re here for.

“They’re here to see a show, they’re here to be entertained and that’s one thing that I try to do.”

Kidd just hope it’ll be the Mavs who will do most of the entertainment on Wednesday. Yet, he knows there’s a good chance Wembanyama will have some type of impact in this game.

“I think it’s great for the game, it’s great for San Antonio,” Kidd said. “For us, it’s another game.

“There’s a lot of stars in this league, and for us it’s just to figure out how to find a way to win on the road.”

BRIEFLY: Guard Luka Doncic sat out Friday’s preseason game against the Detroit Pistons with a left calf strain. Following Saturday’s practice, coach Jason Kidd said: “Luka continues to do some on-court work and is progressing. Our hope is that he resumes practicing next week, but we’ll see where we are after the weekend.” The Mavs will take Sunday off and resume practice on Monday. . .Guard Jaden Hardy also missed the game against the Pistons with a sprained ankle. Kidd said: “Hardy continues to progress. Also, we hope he resumes practice next week.”. .The Mavs converted guard Dexter Dennis (6-5, 210) and forward Greg Brown III (6-8, 217) to two-way contracts on Saturday. Undrafted after finishing his college career as a graduate transfer at Texas A&M, Dennis averaged 3.5 points and one rebound in 9.6 minutes while playing in all four of the Mavs’ preseason games. Brown, meanwhile, appeared in two preseason games for the Mavs and averaged 2.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 9.8 minutes. . .Kidd said he hasn’t yet decided on his opening-day starting lineup. “We’re still talking as a staff to see what we’re going to do there,” Kidd said. “We’ll hopefully have a better understating of that come Monday or Tuesday.”. .In response to that ESPN player ranking that had him ranked as only the 34^th best player in the NBA, Kyrie Irving said: “We’re here to win basketball games, and that’s going to be the true success and true rankings at the end of the season, and that’s where our focus should be. If I have to step out of my comfort zone a little bit and kind of jab ESPN a little bit, they enjoy it. It’s all good banter back and forth. And to all the media partners that we have, it’s all healthy banter. Obviously, we all have our boundaries, but it’s good to see kind of everyone else’s opinions on who’s the best in the world, and us as players it’s our job to feel like we’re the best in the world. So again, there’s that healthy banter and I’m always going to stand on my principles and have that confidence inside me like I’m one of the best in the world no matter if I’m 31 or if I’m 35. I’m still going to feel the same way until somebody proves me otherwise.”. . . Before playing the Detroit Pistons on Friday, the Mavs’ previous preseason game was in Madrid, Spain, on Oct. 10 against Real Madrid. And that came after the Mavs played a pair of preseason games in Abu Dhabi against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After the contest against the Pistons, Irving said: “Number one, it just felt good to be back out there with the guys. We’ve been working incredibly hard during this preseason traveling to Abu Dhabi (and) Madrid just trying to catch our bodies up on the time change. We’ve had a few good practices, so I like to see the carryover. I’ve been active in practice trying to get after guys, guys getting after me. (Friday) was just one of those tests where we got to go against an opponent who doesn’t know our plays. It’s not basically guessing right every single time, so that felt good.”. .When told that Pistons coach Monty Williams said the Mavs are built for the playoffs and he expects them to make a deep run in the postseason, Kidd said: “Thanks, Monty, for that. That’s a great compliment. Monty is a good friend. He’s a great coach in this league, and Detroit also has a really good coach that’s going to have them in the playoffs, too.”

X: @DwainPrice