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 a number of second-round picks, in accordance to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The deal got here after Irving had requested a commerce on Friday and a number of reviews prompt that he may sit out the rest of the season if he was dealt by Thursday’s deadline.
Markieff Morris can even go to Dallas as a part of the deal and the Nets will obtain a 2029 unprotected first-round choose, a 2027 second-round choose and a 2029 second-round choose.
Commerce talks between the Nets and Mavs had been mentioned to have intensified on Sunday and Brooklyn had most well-liked the supply that Dallas had placed on the desk, in accordance to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Los Angeles Lakers and Nets did have conversations a couple of potential deal as nicely.
The commerce ends a tumultuous tenure in Brooklyn for Irving that noticed him dazzle on the courtroom, whereas additionally drumming up loads of controversy off of it. Irving has missed quite a lot of video games over the course of his time with the Nets, which had raised issues about his availability.
Final season he missed the primary third of the season due to his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine after which was solely ready to play in highway video games when he returned in January earlier than New York Metropolis lifted its vaccine mandate in March. Irving was suspended for eight video games this season after he shared a hyperlink to a movie on his social media crammed with antisemitic rhetoric after which failed to again down from his put up.
Irving did ultimately apologize and he had stored the give attention to basketball since then. He has been an enormous key to the Nets staying afloat since Kevin Durant was harm in early July.
The commerce request, which got here on Friday, was made just a little greater than per week after his agent had advised Bleacher Report that Irving’s “desire is to make Brooklyn home, with the right type of extension.” Nonetheless, contract talks by no means appeared to get to the liking of the celebrity and his camp and a proposal that was prolonged by the Nets with “guarantee stipulations,” was not nicely acquired.
It could appear that Nets normal supervisor Sean Marks was ready to make lemonade out of lemons with the haul that he introduced again within the deal. Dinwiddie will get one other go in Brooklyn, the place he had spent 5 seasons beforehand, and the Nets get a guard who’s averaging 17.7 factors and 5.3 assists this season.
Dorian Finney-Smith can play each ahead positions and provides to the Nets’ defensive depth. Dinwiddie is underneath contract for yet another season and Finney-Smith signed a contract extension final February and will probably be underneath contract via the 2025-26 NBA season.
Marks now has a bevy of draft picks that he may use to swing one other deal in addition to a number of gamers he may package deal. The NBA commerce deadline is about for Thursday at 3 p.m. and now the largest query for Brooklyn is what path the franchise will go in.
Nobody has an concept of the place Kevin Durant’s head is at now that Irving has been dealt. It was reported that Durant was stunned by the commerce request from Irving and now it’s unknown if Durant will need to proceed to play in Brooklyn.
Durant had already requested a commerce over the summer time earlier than rescinding it after a sitdown with crew brass. And groups are already gearing up for the likelihood that Durant may change into accessible.
The Phoenix Suns, who had been linked to Durant over the summer time, are ready to pursue him if he turns into accessible, in accordance to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.