IT'S OFFICIALLY TRADE SEASON! After requesting a trade, star Kyrie Irving has been dealt to Dallas for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, and picks.
Photo By: Jesse D. Garrabrant (Getty Images North America)
The Dallas Mavericks struck a deal with the Nets on Sunday to land Irving, just days after he requested a trade out of Brooklyn, according to The Atheltic’s Shams Charania. In exchange, the Mavericks will send Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and multiple draft picks to the Nets.
Irving reportedly demanded a trade from the Nets on Friday, and Irving then sat out from their game against the Washington Wizards on Saturday due to a “calf injury.” The 30-year-old has averaged 27.1 points, 5.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 40 games this season.
Irving has been the center of several controversies during his more than three seasons in Brooklyn. He missed a large chunk of games during the COVID-19 pandemic after he refused to get the vaccine. He was suspended earlier this season, too, after he promoted a film that featured antisemitic hate and refused to apologize to it. He was suspended then after the team determined he was “unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets.”
Earlier this month, Irving was reportedly ready to start contract extension discussions with the team, too. He is in the final year of a four-year, $136 million deal, and was eligible for a maximum four-year extension worth about $200 million this offseason. It’s unclear where those discussions are with the Mavericks at this point. He will be a free agent this summer, but is eligible to sign a two-year, $83 million extension with Dallas now. Contract talks, per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, are expected to be put off until after the season.
While Irving comes with more off-court baggage than most, the Mavericks appear ready to make a legitimate push in the Western Conference after finally getting star Luka Doncic some real help. Doncic is averaging 33.4 points per game this season, second only to Joel Embiid. The Doncic-Irving combo as it stands is averaging 60.5 points, better than the current top-scoring duo of Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown in Boston. Whether Doncic and Irving can mesh together like Tatum and Brown can, though, remains to be seen.
The Mavericks currently sit at 28-26 after Saturday night's loss to the Golden State Warriors, which has them in sixth in the West standings — though just 2.5 games back from the third-place Sacramento Kings, and three games ahead of the 13th place Los Angeles Lakers.
Dinwiddie, who played for Brooklyn from 2016-2021, has averaged 17.7 points and 5.3 assists this season in Dallas. Finney-Smith, who is in his seventh season in the league and spent it all with the Mavericks, has averaged 9.1 points and 4.7 rebounds. The Mavericks will send the Nets a 2027 second-round pick, a 2029 second round draft pick, and a unprotected 2029 first-round pick, per Charania.
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