The Kyrie Irving era is over for the Nets.
The Nets traded Irving to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round and multiple second-round picks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The deal came after Irving had requested a trade on Friday and multiple reports suggested that he could sit out the remainder of the season if he was dealt by Thursday’s deadline.
Markieff Morris will also go to Dallas as part of the deal and the Nets will receive a 2029 unprotected first-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick.
Trade talks between the Nets and Mavs were said to have intensified on Sunday and Brooklyn had preferred the offer that Dallas had put on the table, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Los Angeles Lakers and Nets did have conversations about a potential deal as well.
The trade ends a tumultuous tenure in Brooklyn for Irving that saw him dazzle on the court, while also drumming up plenty of controversy off of it. Irving has missed a number of games over the course of his time with the Nets, which had raised concerns about his availability.
Last season he missed the first third of the season due to his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine and then was only able to play in road games when he returned in January before New York City lifted its vaccine mandate in March. Irving was suspended for eight games this season after he shared a link to a film on his social media filled with antisemitic rhetoric and then failed to back down from his post.
Irving did eventually apologize and he had kept the focus on basketball since then. He has been a huge key to the Nets staying afloat since Kevin Durant was hurt in early July.
The trade request, which came on Friday, was made a little more than a week after his agent had told Bleacher Report that Irving’s “desire is to make Brooklyn home, with the right type of extension.” However, contract talks never seemed to get to the liking of the superstar and his camp and an offer that was extended by the Nets with “guarantee stipulations,” was not well received.
It would seem that Nets general manager Sean Marks was able to make lemonade out of lemons with the haul that he brought back in the deal. Dinwiddie gets another go in Brooklyn, where he had spent five seasons previously, and the Nets get a guard who is averaging 17.7 points and 5.3 assists this season.
Dorian Finney-Smith can play both forward positions and adds to the Nets’ defensive depth. Dinwiddie is under contract for one more season and Finney-Smith signed a contract extension last February and will be under contract thru the 2025-26 NBA season.
Marks now has a bevy of draft picks that he could use to swing another deal as well as several players he could package. The NBA trade deadline is set for Thursday at 3 p.m. and now the biggest question for Brooklyn is what direction the franchise will go in.
No one has an idea of where Kevin Durant’s head is at now that Irving has been dealt. It was reported that Durant was surprised by the trade request from Irving and now it’s unknown if Durant will want to continue to play in Brooklyn.
Durant had already requested a trade over the summer before rescinding it after a sitdown with team brass. And teams are already gearing up for the possibility that Durant could become available.
The Phoenix Suns, who had been linked to Durant over the summer, are prepared to pursue him if he becomes available, according to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
