The Kyrie Irving saga has at long last been concluded. The Brooklyn Nets have finally cut ties with their extraordinarily controversial superstar, Kyrie Irving, as they traded him to the Mavericks for three picks and two players.
Thank the basketball gods that this saga is over.
I don’t think there has been a worse player-city/franchise matchup in the entire history of the NBA than Kyrie Irving going to the Brooklyn Nets that fateful summer night nearly four years ago. Truthfully, ever since Irving arrived in Brooklyn, nothing has gone right for him or the franchise.
From the injury he suffered in his first season, the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, Kyrie’s vaccination controversy, the sweep by the Raptors in the bubble, the heartbreaking loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 in 2021, KD’s injury issues, the breakup of the Harden-Irving-Durant “Big 3”, and Irving’s off court antics last season that led to the sweep by the Celtics last year, and then Steve Nash’s firing as HC and the Jewish-related comments that caused Irving to get suspended this season, the Nets have been the NBA’s literal firestorm.
And I’m probably missing some stuff as I did that list just off the top of my head.
Yet, that list can only and solely be attributed to the actions of Kyrie Irving. He was the one that roped Kevin Durant into leaving the all-conquering Golden State Warriors and joining him in Brooklyn but has been the most toxic and inconsistent actor on the Nets by a mile.
Sure, Harden, Simmons, and a whole slew of other players have come in and out as busts during Irving’s tenure on the team, but he’s been the main stay that has caused the Nets to be as volatile of a franchise as we see today. He’s the one who can’t put aside his need for drama and off court attention for the interest of the team, which has caused the downfall of what was supposed to be the next dynasty out of Brooklyn.
But I’m sure the Nets owners and managment are fine with the collaspse of their team if it also means they can move off from Irving and his nonsense.
Anyway, like I said in the title, Irving is now the newest member of the Dallas Mavericks as they gave up a very reasonable haul consisting of Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 1st round pick, a 2029 2nd round pick, and a 2027 2nd round pick in exchange for Irving and Markieff Morris.
To be honest, this was a brilliant move by Mark Cuban and the Mavericks management. Not only did they pick up one of the Top-75 greatest ever players/talents (for all the negativity surrounding Irving, but he is a fantastic basketball player) to matchup up with Luka Doncic in the backcourt, but they also didn’t give up too much to get him.
Moving on Spencer Dinwiddie, who was Luka’s wingman prior to today, was only natural as Irving would have taken his place, while giving up Finney-Smith and some picks six years down the road is an easy casualty to have to make for a player like Irving. Plus, if Irving is a complete bust and immediately burns his bridges in Dallas (which he will do eventually…it’s just a matter of time), then Cuban can move off him by not resigning him to a max deal.
It’s truly a win-win situation for Cuban, Luka, and the Mavericks.
As for the Nets, they also made out pretty well in this deal.
Spencer Dinwiddie is definitely not Kyrie Irving, but he is a serviceable guard that can post anywhere from 12-17 PPG and 3-6 APG a night, while he also is familiar with the Nets setup as he was there from 2016-2020. Moreover, the picks help the Nets get even more draft capital to either hold onto for the inevitable rebuild, or to go out and try to trade for an all-star level wingman for Kevin Durant in the hopes of one last postseason run.
I’m not sure what direction the Nets will go, but I know for a fact that the Irving-Nets partnership had to be terminated as soon as possible for the best of both parties.
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