On Monday, the Dallas Mavericks announced the acquisition of eight-time All-Star Kyrie Irving and forward/center Markieff Morris from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for guard Spencer Dinwiddie, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first-round pick and two future second-round picks.
Irving will join Luka Doncic as the Mavs, who advanced to the Western Conference Finals last season, are looking to make another deep playoff run this season.
The 30-year-old Irving can get his own shot at a high level and will give the Mavs another great scorer.
Irving, who was selected as a starter in the 2023 All-Star game, appeared in 40 games for the Nets this season and is averaging 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.
He has been involved in many controversies during his time with the Nets. Last season, Irving played in only 29 games after refusing to get the COVID vaccine. This season, Irving was suspended for eight games after re-tweeting a tweet promoting a film that some have called antisemitic.
However, according to Irving, he felt disrespected by the Nets.
“I know I’m going to be at a place where I’m celebrated and not just tolerated,” Irving said after practice on Tuesday. “There were times throughout this process when I was in Brooklyn where I was really disrespected.”
While Irving has been heavily criticized for many things, some justified, he’s been very active in his community.
Irving has donated $1.5 million to help cover the salaries of WNBA players who opted out of the 2020 season during the COVID-19 pandemic, paid off the tuition for nine students at HBCU Lincoln University, gave $323,000 to Feeding America during the COVID-19 pandemic, and partnered with City Harvest to donate 250,000 meals across the New York area.
With the Mavericks, he has an opportunity to change the narrative, and one way to do that is by winning a title, which he did in Cleveland.
“The expectation, of course, is to work toward a championship,” Irving said. “Me saying we’re going to win a championship is not going to do that. It’s just words. I’d rather show you out there and just let the chips lay where they are.”
This is a win-win for the Mavericks. If it works out, they can extend Irving in the offseason and have a running mate for Doncic. If it doesn’t, they will have a lot of cap space to find someone, so we’ll see how this works out going forward.
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