The Dallas Mavericks have the makings of a potentially dangerous team next season. They picked up Cooper Flagg in the NBA draft to add to a very talented front court that features Anthony Davis and added D'Angelo Russell in free agency to hold down the fort until Kyrie Irving returns. The superstar point guard tore his ACL in March and should serve as the perfect scoring complement to the rest of the roster's talent when he recovers.

When that will be, exactly, is far from certain. The Mavs nor Irving have offered anything resembling a concrete rehab timeline since the injury happened. But over the holiday weekend the star player himself chimed in on the possibility that he could return for the playoffs next season, should Dallas qualify.

"Don't hold your breath on that, you know what I'm saying?" Irving said in response to the question from a fan on a livestream. "It doesn't mean I won't be back. It's just, I don't want to make any predictions on when I'm going to be back. I just want to be back 150,000% better. I'm taking my time right now to really get healthy, I'm taking my time to really get my body right, other parts of my body right and really just enjoy this recovery process, man. It's not pretty. Yes, it is a beautiful struggle, but I go through the mental rollercoaster ride every day. Just want to be back out there."

It isn't Irving's first time battling through a lengthy recovery process. Earlier in his career he fractured his kneecap while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals and he didn't return until December of the following season.

It sounds as though Irving isn't trying to rush the process regardless.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kyrie Irving Had Honest Admission About Possibility of Returning for Playoffs Next Year.

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