Two days after requesting a trade the Brooklyn Nets were able to trade away Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks receive Irving and Markieff Morris while the Nets receive Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, 2029 first and second-round picks, along with a 2027 second-round pick. The Nets getting this done so quickly shows they got a deal that was good enough for them and moved on from the star. The deal sent shock waves around the league with the Mavericks arguably being a title contender giving Luka Doncic a sidekick in the backcourt. Like in any transaction, there are winners and losers, so here are a few of them after this trade.
Winner: Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic has been putting up MVP numbers this season averaging 33.4 points per game, 8.2 assists per game, and 8.9 rebounds per game. He has been able to do it all for them but as result, the Mavericks are only sixth in the west. Irving will help the scoring of the Mavericks with his 27.1 points per game giving Doncic a scoring mate. The potential starting lineup for the Mavericks includes Doncic at point guard, Irving at shooting guard, Tim Hardaway Jr. at small forward, Reggie Bullock at power forward, and Christian Wood at center.
On offense, they will be able to outscore any team in the league on the defensive side Doncic and Irving are a liability which could become tricky when it comes to the playoffs. They also do not have a lot of depth so it will be interesting to see if they are willing to make any more moves to put this over the top. Another storyline to look out for is to see if the Mavericks are willing to sign him to a lengthy contract extension.
Loser: Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets
After being able to form a super team, the Nets have fallen drastically in the past couple of years. They were able to sign Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2019 and it only resulted in one playoff series win in their tenure. Combined Durant and Irving only played 74 games together as a duo. For Durant at the end of his prime years, he is looking to win now to add on to his legacy and this trade does not help him with that. Spencer Dinwiddie is a good piece to get back in this trade because he has averaged 17.7 points and 5.3 assists, but he is no Kyrie Irving. With this trade, it is hard to see the Nets as a true contender in the east with the talent that is in the conference already. An off-season storyline to look out for is if Kevin Durant requests a trade as well with the Brooklyn Nets going into a rebuild.
Loser: Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers
Overall, this may be the biggest loser in this trade because of how badly the Lakers needed another talented player on this team. Lebron James is not getting any younger and the window to win more championships is fleeting away. Irving would have been the boost needed for this team to make a push to just get into the playoffs. This year’s trade market is not flush with talented stars with the biggest name linked to trades being OG Anunoby which would not make the pendulum swing the way the Lakers need it to be a title contender.
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