Highlights
- The Dallas Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets in a lopsided trade that paid off significantly.
- Irving’s presence complemented Luka Dončić and strengthened the Mavericks’ roster.
- The Brooklyn Nets received weak returns in trade as the Mavericks emerged as clear winners.
Trades in the NBA can often take a long time to properly evaluate to have a clear consensus on the outlook and impact that the move had. This trade needs no such time.
Before the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline, the Dallas Mavericks made a move to acquire Kyrie Irving.
At the time, Irving was seen as somewhat of a controversial figure. He had a disappointing two-year stint with the Boston Celtics, followed by three and a half seasons with the Brooklyn Nets where the New York media never let him rest. It felt as though Irving had been struggling to find a proper home since his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Looking at the early results of his time in Dallas, it’s safe to say that is no longer the case. The Mavericks just finished off the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference to reach their first NBA Finals since 2011. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that they wouldn’t be in the position they’re in without Irving.
Some trades in NBA history turn out to be mutually beneficial. Some trades turn out to be lopsided. This one is undoubtedly the latter.
Irving Became The Perfect Running Mate For Dončić
The Mavericks desperately needed a co-star for their superstar and they got it
The Mavericks had a major problem on their hands. Their organization allowed Jalen Brunson to walk for nothing in free agency and join the New York Knicks. Their superstar, Luka Dončić, was left to fend for himself.
Dončić is a game-changing talent and easily one of the best players in the league, but this was a scenario undesirable for any player of that stature. The roster around Luka at the time was middling, at best.
Given the competitor that Dončić has proven to be, it would have been fair to think about the elephant in the room. When one considers the missteps of the organization in assembling a contending team around Luka, how long could it be until the young superstar requested a trade out of Dallas?
The quiet part is often not said out loud, but there was surely pressure on the organization to surround their talented guard with the proper help he needed. Luckily for the Mavericks, they hit a slam dunk with this trade. Although, it did not seem like it at first.
Brooklyn was breaking up the band and moving on from the Kevin Durant era for the organization. The Mavericks pounced on getting Dončić his co-star, in Irving, as a result. Their first half-season together, though, ended in them missing the playoffs. Critics may have been ready to write off this pairing, but Dallas believed in what they had.
They surrounded Dončić and Irving with a competent roster that fit well around the stars and by the end of the 2023-2024 regular season, the team locked up the fifth seed heading into the playoffs. Dallas was ready to dominate.
They took out the Los Angeles Clippers in six games. They did the same to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then they punched their ticket to the Finals with a gentleman’s sweep against the Timberwolves.
|
Irving’s 23–24 Stats |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Category |
Reg. Season |
Playoffs |
|
PPG |
25.6 |
22.8 |
|
APG |
5.2 |
5.2 |
|
FG% |
49.7 |
48.5 |
|
3P% |
41.1 |
42.1 |
On paper, Irving’s production looks down a touch from his regular season numbers. For those watching, Irving is playing some of the best basketball of his career. Kyrie has specialized in timely buckets this postseason, consistently turning it on down the stretch of games into crunch time. He has been a positive playmaker when his shot isn’t falling. Plus, he’s playing some of the best defense of his career.
Irving, and everything that followed after, undid the damage Dallas had previously done in terms of roster construction around Dončić. The Mavericks capitalized on the perfect opportunity to land Kyrie when his stock was low. Now, it’s at an all-time high as the duo are looking for their first NBA Championship together.
Role Players And Draft Capital
The Nets Were Left With A Weak Return For Irving
When one of the players a team acquired in a trade isn’t even on their roster anymore, it’s never a good sign. Spencer Dinwiddie was traded at this year’s deadline to the Toronto Raptors, who would proceed to buy him out. His second stint in Brooklyn lasted just 74 games before the team moved on from the veteran guard.
|
Dinwiddie’s 23–24 Stats |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Category |
Nets |
Lakers |
|
PPG |
12.6 |
6.8 |
|
APG |
6.0 |
2.4 |
|
FG% |
39.1 |
39.7 |
|
3P% |
32.0 |
38.9 |
|
MPG |
30.7 |
24.2 |
|
GP |
48 |
28 |
Dinwiddie struggled in Brooklyn before eventually ending up with the Los Angeles Lakers after his buyout from the Raptors. He did not do much better under the bright lights of Hollywood.
Dorian Finney-Smith remains with the team. He produced adequately in his 28.4 minutes a night for the Nets, but nothing to really write home about in terms of a feature piece in a trade for a star.
Brooklyn is likely holding out hope for some turmoil in Dallas. That way, the 2029 first-round pick they hold could amount to something here. Given that Dončić would be right in the midst of his prime around that time, it’s not the safest bet for Brooklyn by any means.
The Clear Winner Of The Trade
The Mavericks committed highway robbery
Even when you account for recency bias, there’s no way to look at this trade as anything other than the Mavericks coming out on top.
The team gave up a bargain of a price to put together one of the best backcourts in recent basketball history. In doing so, they also managed to hush any talk of Dončić potentially growing disgruntled in Dallas.
The shrewd maneuvering of the Mavericks organization deserves nothing, but applause. They sit four wins away from securing their second championship in franchise history. Even if they come up short this year, they should get a few more cracks at it with the current core they have in place.
Meanwhile, the Nets just finished 11th in the Eastern Conference this past season, failing to make the playoffs. The team continues struggling to find relevancy and it’s hard to envision that changing any time soon.
Few things in this world are black and white, life is usually lived in the grey. This is not the case when it comes to the trade that brought Irving to the Mavericks. Dallas won. Brooklyn lost.
Stats are courtesy of Basketball Reference.
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