The Brooklyn Nets are trading Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris to the Dallas Mavericks, according to multiple reports, in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 unprotected first-round pick, and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029.
According to ESPN, the Nets are going to use these picks to try to improve their roster ahead of the deadline, signaling that a Kevin Durant trade is not likely at the moment.
Karalis’ reaction
The obvious first question is “how does this impact the Celtics?” On the surface, this takes a talented individual scorer off a division and conference rival, which should make them worse.
However, it also takes a locker room negative off the team while bringing back a guy who can hit 3-pointers and score (Dinwiddie is shooting 40.5% from 3 and averages 17.7 ppg) who isn’t a complete turnstile on defense and a quality defender in Finney-Smith who can score a couple of points and at least hit 3-pointers at the league average.
The Nets took a step back in one regard, but they have an opportunity to add another piece at the deadline and give Kevin Durant a supporting cast that can accentuate him as a superstar. They should still be a playoff team, but as of right now, I think this drops comfortably into the tier below Boston, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia.
The real question now is whether Durant sticks around. Will he be part of the Nets at the end of this week or to start next season? How the Nets look in a playoff series depends on their next move, but it’s still looking like they're at risk for looking a lot like they did in these past playoffs. It’s possible he could stick around through the deadline only to get booted in the first or second round and then reiterate his trade demand over the summer.
As for Irving and the Mavs, I expect that to be a disaster for Dallas. Why wouldn’t I? Irving has blown up every basketball situation he’s been in. You can go back to his high school days when he transferred after two seasons to see how Irving has constantly chased something he still can’t find. He asked out of Cleveland, misled Boston and walked away, and now he ditched a team he referred to many times as “home.”
So Dallas now steps up to the plate as the latest team looking to get into the Kyrie business.
Everything you need to know about how Irving is seen around the league is that the trade package was two solid players, a first rounder, and a couple second rounders. Under normal circumstances, an Irving trade should involve multiple firsts and a deeper package of players. Part of that might be because Dallas seems prepared for him to be a rental (according to Marc Stein, the deal doesn’t involve a guaranteed contract offer), but part of it is because teams just aren’t interested in committing to Irving.
Pairing him with Luka Doncic is incredibly risky. The Mavericks might feel like they need to take the risk now to prove to their star that they are willing to take big swings to win, but putting a ball-dominant non-defender next to a ball-dominant non-defender in the back court leaves Dallas in a bind. The pressure now falls squarely on the Dallas bigs to defend the rim and they just don’t have the horses to do that. Add Christian Wood to the lineup and that group will bleed points.
Dallas is making the same mistake other teams have made with Irving. Everyone has believed their situation will make the outcome different, but it never has. Cleveland thought handing him the keys after LeBron James’ departure would cement him as a leader, but they were wrong. Boston thought its culture of excellence would get him focused, but they were wrong. Brooklyn thought him being “home” would make him happy, but they were wrong.
Dallas now thinks that former Nike executive turned Mavs GM Nico Harrison can use his connection with Irving to make a difference. The team is hoping Jason Kidd’s backing of Irving will give them the coach/player connection to make this different. But history has taught us that none of that actually matters.
Maybe Irving will finally find what he’s looking for someday, but only a fool will actually expect it. Dallas felt the pressure to win now and they took a swing on the first big name that hit the market. It won’t go well for them.
