Reports say that Brooklyn has agreed to send All-Star guard Kyrie Irving to Dallas in exchange for two players and three Draft picks in the future.
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| Kyrie Irving is traded from the Nets to the Mavericks |
Several reports say that the Brooklyn Nets and the Dallas Mavericks have agreed to trade Kyrie Irving. In the deal, the Nets are expected to get Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, and future Draft picks.
Supposedly, Brooklyn gets:
- Spencer Dinwiddie
- Don Finney-Smith
- Second-round pick for 2027
- 2029 pick in the first round (unprotected)
- 2029 pick in the second round
Supposedly, Dallas gets:
- Kyrie Irving
- Markieff Morris
BREAKING: The Brooklyn Nets are trading Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round and multiple second-round picks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2023
Broolyn Nets are trading Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 5, 2023
The Mavericks are sending Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, a 2027 first-round pick and second round picks to the Nets, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/PUMhhYeDnQ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2023
The deal is said to be happening just two days after Irving asked to be moved from Brooklyn before the Feb. 9 trade deadline. He did not go to Brooklyn's game on Saturday night. The team said he was hurt and had to stay home because of it. Chris Haynes of NBA on TNT says that Irving is "ecstatic" about joining the Mavs and is "looking forward" to playing with Luka Doncic, the star guard for Dallas.
Haynes said that the Nets chose the Mavericks' offer over those from the Lakers and Suns, which included first-round picks in 2027 and 2029. (Chris Paul, Jae Crowder, plus picks). Haynes said that the decision was made to "keep the team afloat" until Kevin Durant came back from his injury in a few weeks.
Irving tweeted early Monday morning, "Thank you NetsWorld fans and supporters for the love on and off the court." "I will always be grateful that I got to live out a childhood dream with you guys. Love from me and my family will always be there."
It wasn't clear right away when Irving would play his first game for Dallas. On Monday night, the Mavericks play at Utah. Wojnarowski says that Irving is expected to arrive in Dallas on Monday for a physical. If all goes well, he could make his debut on Wednesday against the LA Clippers (10 ET, ESPN).
Sunday, before the Raptors played Memphis, Toronto coach Nick Nurse said, "My first thought was that it seemed like a really good move." "(The Nets) got a lot back for a guy who didn't look like he was coming back. I think you should do that. I think Dallas got another big star to go with the one they already had."
Thank you NetsWorld fans and supporters for the Love on and off the court. I will forever be grateful I got to live out my dream I had as a Kid with y’all. It will always be Love from me and my family.
— Hélà (@KyrieIrving) February 6, 2023
🤞🏾♾
This season, Irving is averaging 27.1 points, 5.3 assists, and 5.1 boards. Doncic averages 33.4 points, 8.9 boards, and 8.2 assists per game. They are now one of the best duos in the NBA, and they should make Dallas a stronger contender in the West, where there are a lot of teams that can win the championship.
For now, Irving is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. It was thought that the Los Angeles Lakers were one of a few teams interested in Irving. This could have brought Irving back together with LeBron James, with whom he won a championship in Cleveland in 2016.
The trade does put Irving back together with Dallas general manager Nico Harrison. Before taking over the Mavericks in 2021, Harrison worked for Nike.
The trade also means the end of a rough time in Brooklyn.
Irving signed with the team he liked as a kid in 2019 with the hope that he and Durant could win a championship together.
But one thing led to another, and he had to miss almost the whole home schedule last season because he wouldn't get vaccinated against COVID-19. He also got an eight-game suspension earlier this season after the team said it was disappointed that he wouldn't "clearly say he doesn't have antisemitic beliefs" after he posted a link to a movie on Twitter.
Irving only played 143 games with the Nets over the course of three and a half seasons, and he and Durant only played 74 of those games together after they were paired in the summer of 2019. Irving signed as a free agent, and Golden State traded Durant to the Nets in exchange for Irving.
In October, after the Nets lost to the Mavericks at home in overtime, Irving said that the Mavericks had parts of "a great team." He talked at length about how much he likes Doncic's game after the Mavs star scored 41 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and gave out 11 assists.
"I think we should start by talking about how long he's been a pro basketball player. Irving said that night, "I think it's been like 14 or 15 years." "He's seen so many different defenses and played so many different roles overseas, I'm sure. And you can't miss him now that he's in the NBA. He plays at a very fast speed. He always makes the right choices."
Dinwiddie played for the Nets for five years. His best year was 2019-2020, when he averaged a career-high 20.6 points per game and started 49 games, mostly when Irving was hurt.