Brooklyn Nets have reportedly consented to a trade involving All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, sending him to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, and future Draft picks.
Brooklyn reportedly receives:
- Spencer Dinwiddie
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- 2027 second-round pick
- 2029 first-round pick (unprotected)
- 2029 second round-pick
Dallas reportedly receives:
- Kyrie Irving
- Markieff Morris
The deal, which comes in the wake of Kyrie Irving’s request to be traded two days ago, is said to have made the Nets guard “ecstatic” about joining the Mavericks and playing alongside Luka Doncic. Irving was not at Saturday’s game due to an injury and was excused from being at the arena.
The Brooklyn Nets have reportedly chosen the Dallas Mavericks package over offers from the Lakers and Phoneix Suns, looking to “keep the team afloat” while star Kevin Durant recovers from injury. Irving tweeted his gratitude to Nets fans and said he would “forever be grateful” to have lived out his dream with them. Shortly after, it was reported he is expected to arrive in Dallas Mavericks for a physical on Monday and could debut against the Clippers on Wednesday.
At Sunday’s game, Toronto coach Nick Nurse expressed his opinion of the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks trade, which sent Kyrie Irving to Dallas Mavericks for All-Star guard, Luka Doncic. Nurse lauded the move, noting the Brooklyn Nets got “a lot of assets back for a guy who wasn’t going to be back”. He also pointed out the Dallas Mavericks now have “a big-time star to go with the one they’ve got” and that Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic will make a formidable duo. While Irving is slated to become a free agent after the season and rumors of the Los Angeles Lakers attempting to reunite him with LeBron James have circulated, the trade has still made Dallas a stronger contender in the Western Conference.
A reported trade now reunites Irving with Dallas Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison, a Nike executive prior to taking the reins of the Mavericks in 2021. Coming off a turbulent period in Brooklyn nets, Kyrie Irving had signed with the Nets in 2019 with hopes of winning a championship alongside Kevin Durant. However, a string of issues, such as kyrie Irving having to sit out almost the entire home schedule last season due to refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and an eight-game suspension this season for a movie link tweet with antisemitic undertones, limited Irving to only 143 games in his three-plus seasons with the Brooklyn Nets. Thus, Irving and Durant were able to share the court together in only 74 of those games since their celebratory pairing in the summer of 2019.
Following the Nets’ home overtime loss to Dallas Mavericks in October, Kyrie Irving noted the Dallas Mavericks’ strong traits and spoke highly of Luka Doncic’s game, which included 41 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. Kyrie Irving commented on Luka Doncic’s extensive professional basketball experience since the age of 14 or 15 and praised his pace, decision-making, and performance. His words were echoed by Spencer Dinwiddie, who had his best season with the Nets in 2019-20, averaging a career-high of 20.6 points and starting in 49 games, primarily due to kyrie Irving’s absence.