By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Kyrie Irving finally gets his wish just days after requesting a trade from the Brooklyn Nets.
Multiple reports from Shams Charania, Chris Haynes, and Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed that both the Nets and the Dallas Mavericks reached an agreement to trade the mercurial point guard.
The report indicated that the Mavericks will be receiving Irving in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2027 second-round pick, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick, and a 2029 second-round pick.
Aside from Irving, veteran power forward Markieff Morris will also be shipped to Dallas.
The deal stunned everyone in the NBA as many expected Irving will reunite with LeBron James in Los Angeles but the deal never materialized.
Irving’s stint with the Brooklyn Nets has been disastrous since forming a big three with Kevin Durant and James Harden last 2019.
The Nets suffered a surprising sweep from the Boston Celtics last NBA playoffs and were bound for a promising start when they acquired Ben Simmons to fortify their rotation.
Brooklyn also got the services of Utah Jazz’s two-way star Royce O’Neale and got an impressive improvement from Japan’s Yuta Watanabe.
Their recent efforts and summer trade moves helped them lock the fourth spot in the East but the team’s future is now in question with Irving leaving.
With his recent move of going to the Western Conference, Irving will have the tough task of boosting Dallas’ chances of winning in the post-season together with one of the best young talents in the league, Luka Doncic.
Despite Doncic’s MVP numbers, the Mavericks are only placed sixth in the West with a 28-26 win-loss record and will have the chance to drop if the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors continue to win in the regular season.
