A little over three years ago, the
Brooklyn Nets signed a perennial All-Star guard in hopes he along with a former
NBA league MVP to help them in the pursuit of their first NBA title in
franchise history. But after a number of injuries. A plethora of missed games
because he did not want to get COVID-19 vaccination a season ago. A mysterious
and unexplained absence the season prior. A tweet promoting anti-sematic themes
back in November 2022, and two trade
request, including one at the start of this past weekend, the Nets decided now
was the time to move on from the controversial half of their star duo.
In the middle of Sunday afternoon, a
little after 3 p.m. Eastern, ESPN’s Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski
dropped a major “Woj bomb” tweeting @wojespn that the Nets dealt now eight-time
All-Star guard Kyrie Irving along with veteran forward Markieff Morris to the
Dallas Mavericks in exchange for guard Spencer Dinwiddie and versatile forward
Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2027 Second-Round pick, 2029 First-round pick and 2029
Second-Round pick. The deal was also tweeted out by NBA on TNT and Bleacher
Reports’ Chris Haynes and “The Stadium’s” Shams Charania.
“Thank you NetsWorld fans and supporters
for the love on and off the court,” Irving tweeted in the early part of Monday
morning. “I will be forever be grateful I got to live out my dream I had as a
Kid with y’all. It will always be Love.”
The departure of the now eight-time
All-Star, who was named MVP of the 2014 All-Star game out of Brooklyn, via
trade came just 48 hours after the former Cleveland Cavalier and Boston Celtic
requested to be traded ahead of this Thursday’s trade deadline after talks of a
new contract broke down late last week. That was when Irving asked to be dealt
elsewhere. There were also reports that Irving was prepared to sit out the rest
of the season before leaving as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Irving, a three-time All-NBA selection was
a late scratch for his now former team in their comeback 125-123 win versus the
Washington Wizards (24-28), overcoming a 28-point deficit, their largest
comeback win on the season in sweeping the four-game set with the boys from the
District of Columbia. The Nets (32-20) said that Irving, who was out of action
due to injury, was not even at Barclays Center on Saturday night. The Nets were
also without Kevin Durant whose missed the last 12 games because of a MCL
sprain in his left knee Ben Simmons, who too is on the mend recently because of
knee soreness.
Before the game on Saturday evening, head
coach Jacque Vaughn, who has been the Nets sideline leader since Nov. 1, 2022
and became their new head coach on Nov. 9, 2022 address made it clear that no
matter is going on outside their locker room that everyone from him to the
coaching staff to the players on the roster has the obligation and
responsibility to be ready on game day.
“I think you have a responsibility as a
basketball player like I do as a coach,” Vaughn said. “I show up. I do my job
every single day. That’s what I signed up for. And that’s my expectations for
[players] 1-17.”
Vaughn added about his message to the
team, “Focus on today. That doesn't change. We’ve been really good at just
locking in and doing our jobs. Don’t forget that piece of it. Continue to show
up. And if you do have some sort of lack of clarity, come to me.”
The departure of Kyrie Irving coupled with
Durant as mentioned still on the shelf, that leaves a major scoring void for
the Nets. For a night second-year reserve guard filled that void at least for
one evening scoring 19 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter on
16/23 from the field and 4/5 from three-point range.
The Nets hope in the short term that
Dinwiddie, whose career came to life in his five seasons with the Nets
(2016-21) when they were trying to build themselves into a serious contender
under now assistant coach of the Warriors Kenny Atkinson.
Dinwiddie, who signed with the Nets out of
the NBAs G League’s Dec. 8, 2016 averaged 14.3 points in 274 career games in
his five seasons with Nets. He was dealt to the Wizards in a sign-and-trade in
a five-team deal in August 2021. The Mavericks acquired Dinwiddie in the deal
for current Wizards player Kristaps Porzingis from Mavericks on Feb. 10, 2022
Irving stint with the Nets did have a
plethora of spectacular scoring nights. Only Vince Carter, current television
NBA analyst for ESPN as well as color analyst for the Atlanta Hawks on Bally
Sports South and Southeast had more 40-plus point games in Nets history with 17
than the 13 such games by Irving. Irving had more career 45-plus point games as
Net with seven to the five by Carter.
But Irving’s time with the Nets also
consisted of him missing a dozens of games because of injuries, suspension, and
multiple other controversies. In the end, the Nets are as WABC 7 “Eyewitness
News” Sports Anchor Ryan Field put it the Nets are “happy” to move on from
Irving.
Kyrie
Irving’s Timeline With Nets
2019-20: Underwent season-ending shoulder
surgery in March 2020, missing 62 games in total. The Nets finished No. 7 in
Eastern Conference and were swept by the Toronto Raptors in the opening round
of the 2020 Playoffs 4-0.
2020-21: Durant, Irving, and Harden were
formed. But the three totaled 14 games together. They took down the Celtics 4-1
in First Round of 2021 Playoffs. Irving sprained his ankle in Game 4 of 2021
East Semis at the Milwaukee Bucks. He missed the remainder of the series, which
the Nets lost in seven games. The began that postseason 5-1.
2021-22: Irving missed the first 35 games
because of New York City’s Vaccine Mandate. He returned as a part-time player
in December 2021, then as a full-time player in late March 2022 playing in 29
total games that regular season. Lost as No. 7 seed again in the opening round,
getting swept by the Celtics 4-0.
June 2022: Opted into the final year of
his contract at $36.5 million.
Oct. 2022: Tweeted link to anti-sematic
film, which led to him being suspended by the Nets for eight games in November
2022.
Feb. 2023: reportedly requested to be
traded before the Feb 9 trade
The reported deal to the Mavericks
concludes what was a roller coaster of highs and lows with the Nets that only
netted one postseason series win, over the Celtics in the First-round of the
2021 NBA Playoffs 4-1.
Irving a New Jersey native, signed with
the Nets in 2019, teaming with Kevin Durant in the hopes of winning a title.
While Irving was exceptional on the
hardwood, the problem is that he did was not on the floor consistently because
of both injury and his ability to constantly get distracted or impose on
himself one self-inflicted wound after another.
There was his refusal to get vaccinated
under the New York City imposed mandate last season by NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D)
that held Irving out for nearly the entire Nets home schedule last season,
which was lifted in late March. In the 2022 portion of this season, the Nets
suspended Irving for a minimum of five games, missing eight games in total
because of his Twitter post to an anti-sematic movie.
Those various issues along with in
injuries limited Irving to (including the Playoffs) to 157 out of 299 games
(143 out of 291 games in regular season). That included just 74 games in which
Irving and Durant, who joined the Nets as mentioned in the summer of 2019.
Irving joined the Nets as a free agent, while Durant came over via
sign-and-trade from the Warriors after leading them to two championships in
three seasons.
Irving’s inability to put the focus
squarely on basketball is why James Harden, who the Nets dealt the likes of
Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, and a great deal of their draft capital to the
Cavaliers in a deal two seasons back wanted out and was dealt at last season’s
February 2022 trade deadline to the Philadelphia 76ers for three-time All-Star
Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, while also acquiring a First-Round pick.
The trio of Durant, Irving, and Harden
totaled just 14 games together in their 1-plus seasons with the Nets.
“They were ready to be done with this
Kyrie Irving situation,” Wojnarowski said on the late Sunday evening edition of
ESPN’s “Sportscenter.” “They got back what they hoped they would. And now for
Brooklyn, they want to get back to work.”
“They’ve got three Draft picks they got in
this trade. They have a future Philadelphia First-Round pick. And they’ll be
aggressive with those picks to go out between now and Thursday’s trade deadline
to try to get more help around Kevin Durant.”
Per Haynes via Twitter @ChrisBHaynes,
Irving said he was “ecstatic” about being traded to the Mavericks and is
“looking forward” to teaming up with their superstar guard and now three-time
All-Star Luka Doncic.
The Nets did have other offers from other
teams, according to Haynes. The Los Angeles Lakers (25-29) had a package that
included First-Round picks in 2027 and 2029. The Suns offered a trade package
that, according to Hayes included sending veteran lead guard Chris Paul, Jae
Crowder, plus draft picks.
Haynes reported on NBATV’s late night
addition of “Gametime” to host Kristen Ledlow that the Nets chose what the
Mavericks were offering because they are attempting to keep 2014 Kia MVP Kevin
Durant happy, their other prized signing three seasons back.
“Quite honestly, this is an organization
that wants Kevin Durant to stay committed. To stay the course with this
reshaping of the [Nets] roster.”
It is not clear whether Irving will make
his Mavericks’ debut. The Mavericks play at the Utah Jazz (27-27) on Monday
night, who hold the No. 10 and final Play-In spot in Western Conference.
Per Wojnarowski, Irving is expected to
make his Mavericks debut, pending on if his physical goes well at the Los
Angeles Clippers (30-26) at 10 p.m. on ESPN.
With the addition of Irving, who averaged
27.1 points, 5.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 40 games with Nets alongside
Doncic, who is averaging a league-leading 33.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 8.9
rebounds per contest they immediately become one of the top duos in the NBA,
particularly scoring wise and make the Mavericks a much stronger contender to
do damage in the very stacked Western Conference.
More than anything, the addition of Irving
brings in a player that has been somewhere the Mavericks want to be hopefully
by the end of the season or in the not too distant future, to be an NBA
champion.
There is a great deal of risk with the
Mavericks acquiring Irving because at the end of this season he will be an
unrestricted free agent.
According to Wojnarowski, the Mavericks
have given no indications of signing Irving to a long-term deal. With him being
dealt to the Mavericks, if Irving wanted to sign an extension before June 30 to
remain in “Big D,” it would only be for two years.
If Irving wants a long-term extension to
stay with the Mavericks, it would have to be done this offseason.
For the Mavericks, this was a very expensive
risk because they not only said goodbye to a future First-Round pick and two solid
players in Dinwiddie, who really complimented Doncic and Finney-Smith, who affectionately
is called Do-Do, who went undrafted out of the University of Florida in 2016
who spent his entire career of 6-plus seasons in “Big D,” where he made himself
into a versatile defender who made himself into a solid three-point shooter.
Dorian Finney-Smith’s 434 Career Games Played: 15th
Mavericks History
career with Mavericks 637 Made Three-Pointers:
8th Mavericks History
Increased
Points and Three-Point Percentage In
Each
of His First Six Seasons
“It was hard because when you talk about Do,
he was raised by the Mavs,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said about having
to deal Finney-Smith to get Irving before the Mavericks tilt at the Jazz on
Monday night to Bally Sports Southwest’s Mark Followill.
“He was given an opportunity. He was so
thankful. He worked extremely hard. He was a big part of our success.”
Coach Kidd added about Dinwiddie that he
played at a high level in his year-plus in “Big D.”
“So to go to their rooms today yesterday
and tell them that they were traded. But to just talk to them and thank them
for everything they did was hard,” Coach Kidd said. “But understanding that it’s
a business. They got that and we wish them the best and they’re going to be
successful in Brooklyn.”
On top of that there is no guarantee that
Irving and Doncic, two ball dominant guards will click together on the
hardwood.
On paper, Irving is one of the best
players that the Mavericks have acquired, who has averaged 23.3 points and 5.7 assists
on 47.1 percent from the field in his 12 NBA seasons with the Cavaliers,
Celtics and Nets. The 2011-12 Kia Rookie of the Year and 2011-12 All-Rookie selection.
Kyrie Irving’s Six Seasons With
Cavaliers: 21.6 points, 38 3-Pt.%, 5.5 assists
Career Splits Two Seasons
With Celtics: 24.1 points, 40 3-Pt.%, 6.1 assists
Four
Seasons With Nets: 27.1 points, 40 3-Pt.%, 5.8 assists
Also, the Mavericks with this trade now have
the best first quarter scorer in the league on the season at 11.6 points per
game in Doncic and the best fourth quarter scorer in the league in Irving at
9.3, which is tied with Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Three things that are in the Mavericks
favor as they begin this experiment is that the Mavericks ran this past Doncic
before they made the decision to pull the trigger on acquiring Irving.
Third, the Mavericks (28-26) are in a
Western Conference playoff race where Seeds 4-13 are separated by just five
games.
The Lakers (25-29), who sit currently at
No. 13 in the Western Conference, just two games out of the No. 10 and final
Play-In spot, currently occupied the surprising Utah Jazz (27-27) were one of
the few teams interested in acquiring Irving. It would have reunited him with
LeBron James, with whom he helped lead the Cavaliers to four straight Finals
appearances as the representative for the Eastern Conference. They led the Cavs
to the title in 2016 taking down the then and current defending NBA champion
Golden State Warriors.
Reports late last night said that Nets’
Governor Joe Tsai made it very clear that he was willing to deal Irving to any
team except for the Lakers, which was Irving’s preferred destination.
The other thing the Mavericks have going
in bringing in Irving is he reunites with now Mavericks General Manager Nico
Harrison, who was with Nike as an executive before joining the Mavericks front
office as their GM two years ago.
Growing up, Irving has made it no secret
that when now Mavericks head coach and Hall of Famer Jason Kidd was his
favorite player when he was playing with the Nets in the early 2000s.
Longtime NBA Inside Marc Stein said on the
“Mavericks Live” on Monday night that when Kidd was inducted into the Hall of
Fame in 2018, Irving through a mutual friend of his and Kidd’s in former longtime
trainer for the Phoenix Suns Robin Pound made that happen.
Harrison worked closely with Irving and
his agent in his stepmom Shetellia Riley Irving at Nike.
When Mavericks owner Mark Cuban brought
Kidd and Harrison into the Mavericks fold last season it was for this moment.
To bring in a player in Irving that is not the easiest person coach or be a teammate
of that because of the respect they have for each other that they can bring the
best out of Irving from the standpoint that he can be the best he can both on
the court as well as off of it.
“On paper it give us scoring, a champion,
an All-Star. Someone whose basketball IQ is extremely high,” Kidd said of
Irving’s addition. “And so, it give us another weapon to put alongside Luka.”
Kidd added that Irving’s addition is
exciting opportunity for the Mavericks. While it is “easy” to look at all the
negatives that have occurred in Irving’s career, most of which he has brought
on himself. But this is a time to look at the positive that Irving has done
both on and off the floor, which is how Kidd and the Mavericks are approaching
this.
“We have a relationship,” Kidd said of him
and Irving. “He’s all about basketball. He wants to win. He wants to be
coached. And this is a great opportunity to have someone like this to help. To
split my time between those two [Irving and Doncic] and the rest of the team.
It’s a great challenge and it should be fun.”
Kyrie Irving’s stay with the Brooklyn Nets
lasted only 3 ½ years, for a lot of Nets fans and the organization it felt like
an eternity from how his erratic behavior and polarizing way of thinking off
the court outweighed his excellence and brilliant play on the hardwood.
On Sunday, the Nets ended their
relationship with Irving in granting his wish in dealing him to the Dallas
Mavericks after negotiations on a new deal were never reached, which led
Irving’s camp to ask that their client be dealt out from the Nets.
Irving is now with the Mavericks and hopefully
he can fit well alongside Luka Doncic and get the Mavericks back to the Western
Conference Finals this spring which will allow Irving to be best positioned to
possibly get a new long-term contract and position the Mavericks to be a title
contender for seasons to come.
For the Nets, they hope that this trade is
the first step in putting better more complimentary and cohesive talent around
Kevin Durant who for the second straight season has seen two All-Star players
who he thought could help him deliver a championship to the Nets be dealt.
While the prospects of how this trade will
affect both the Nets and Mavericks moving forward remains to be seen. But one
thing can be certain, there will be a lot of anticipation to see how it all
plays out.
Information, statistics, and quotations
are courtesy of www.nba.com, Statmuse.com, 1/20/2023 8:30 p.m. “Brooklyn Nets
Pregame” Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES), presented by Fanduel
Sportsbook With Chris Shearn, Frank Isola, Meghan Triplett; 1/23/2023 9 p.m. “Nets
vs. Jazz” YES With Ryan Ruocco, Sarah Kustok, Meghan Triplett; 2/5/2023 6 p.m.
WNBC “New 4 NY at 6” With Gilma Avalos, Matt Brickman with Weather and Bruce
Beck with Sports; 2/6/2023 5 a.m. WABC 7 “Eyewitness News This Morning” With
Shirleen Allicot, Michelle Charlesworth, Sam Champion With Weather, Heather O’Rourke
With Traffic, with Sports report from Ryan Field; 2/6/2023 7:30 p.m. “Los
Angeles Clippers vs. Brooklyn Nets” on YES with Ian Eagle, Sarah Kustok, Meghan
Triplett; 2/6/20223 8:30 p.m. “Mavericks Live” Bally Sports Southwest,
presented by Smoothie King With Dana Larsen, Marc Stein, Brian Damaris, and
Devin Harris; 2/6/2023 www.nba.com story, “Nets
Officially Trade Kyrie Irving To Mavericks;” and 2/6/2023 9 p.m. “Dallas
Mavericks vs. Utah Jazz,” Bally Sports Southwest with Mark Followill and Derek
Harper.
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