February 05, 2023

Kyrie Irving Traded to Dallas Mavericks: The Dallas Mavericks have acquired Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, a 2029 first-round pick and two second-round picks. Irving is on the last year of his current contract and seeks a four-year, $198.5 million maximum extension. The Mavs are in sixth place in the West at 28-26 despite some huge performances from Luka Doncic.

posted by rcade to basketball at 03:39 PM - 5 comments

Wild trade. Luka gets the best partner he's ever had, but for how long?

I like that Mark Cuban takes big risks to go for the title.

posted by rcade at 03:45 PM on February 05, 2023

I'm glad that Kyrie is going to a town that's entirely free of conspiracy theories.

The arena is just a few blocks from Dealey Plaza.

If he goes to the top of Reunion Tower and looks south, he should be able to see Veracruz.

posted by beaverboard at 07:53 PM on February 05, 2023

Dallas Mavericks defensive rating is 115.4 points per 100 possessions. Brooklyn Nets defensive rating with Kyrie Irving on the court is 115.1 points per 100 possessions. Please tell me how Irving helps Dallas? Yes, I understand that Doncic was not pleased with having to carry the offensive load by himself, but adding another shooter who is also a defensive liability is not a good way to go. Dinwiddie and Finney-Smith are solid players who will thrive away from Dallas. Doncic seems to be tasked with running the offense by himself, but Kyrie is not the best alternative. Help and depth up front would be better.

posted by Howard_T at 10:45 PM on February 05, 2023

Unless the Mavs are allowed to play with 2 balls on offense this trade doesn't help them at all. Kyrie doesn't want to be an off the ball guy on offense and taking the ball out of Luka's hands is a huge mistake. At best this allows the Mavs to give Luka a few more minutes rest to keep him fresh.

posted by cixelsyd at 12:00 PM on February 06, 2023

I'm kind of reserving overall (basketball) judgment until the trade deadline passes, and I know this is like the smallest part of the bigger picture, but this would be somewhat easier to swallow if the Mavs had been able to offload either of the Bertans or Javale McGee contracts. Props for keeping both Josh Green and Jaden Hardy, but it hurts to lose Doe-doe. I love that dude.

But more than anything, this is basically Nico Harrison making his big gambit. If it blows up in his face (and I do feel I'm being a bit gracious by using the word "if") he's certainly out as GM and his tenure will be a blight on the franchise history. Then again, if it works out we have the potential for an all-time epic Finals between the Celtics and Mavs. That would be fun.

posted by Ufez Jones at 03:10 PM on February 06, 2023

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