The NBA’s script this year is wild.
On Sunday, the Brooklyn Nets agreed to trade superstar guard Kyrie Irving and forward Markieff Morris to the Dallas Mavericks for guard Spencer Dinwiddie, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick in 2029 and a second-round pick in 2027 and 2029, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
It’s no secret that the Mavericks’ Luka Doncic needs help. Dallas’ prized superstar and MVP candidate has put his team on his back throughout the season, but despite Doncic’s magic, his Mavericks currently have a 28-26 record. This makes them the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Nobody else on this roster is capable of elevating this team to a winning record. Doncic is willing Dallas to a playoff spot by himself.
Of course, no one should be expected to replicate Doncic’s production, but when your team’s second-highest scoring player is Christian Wood, just about anything would help. Even though the Mavericks were a playoff contender, they were beggars at this year’s trade deadline, pleading for any meaningful talent to pair with Doncic.
But sometimes, beggars can be choosers.
Irving fits this Mavericks team like a glove on offense. He is one of basketball’s most skilled players, able to score however he wants, but he doesn’t necessarily need the ball in his hands to be effective. His 55.9 eFG% and 38% from three speak for themselves. I believe that Irving can complement Doncic in this heliocentric Mavericks offense very effectively.
More importantly, Dallas finally has a second star. No longer will the Mavericks be helpless whenever Doncic needs a breather. They can let Irving, one of the most talented facilitators in the league, run the show just like Doncic does. If head coach Jason Kidd decides to stagger their minutes (which I hope he does), Dallas will be unstoppable throughout the entirety of any game, not just when Doncic plays.
Of course, there’s a chance that this experiment blows up spectacularly. This team has several question marks defensively, which is only exacerbated by the loss of Finney-Smith. It’s possible that I’m overestimating Irving’s willingness to play off-ball.
Irving has a rather unique personality and isn’t exactly known for his leadership. At a bare minimum, I am intrigued by this Mavericks team, who have so much offensive talent and can go as far as their two stars are able to take them.
On the other side, I must admit that I’m impressed with the offer that the Nets got back. I considered Irving one of the most untradeable players in the NBA due to his off-court antics and distractions.
Any team that employs Irving, as history has shown, will be under intense media scrutiny while having one of the league’s most controversial players wear its uniform. That’s a PR nightmare that I didn’t believe other teams would want to give up legitimate assets for.
Dallas, however, was willing to take that risk, and they gave up Dinwiddie, Finney-Smith and picks.
The Nets got back two veterans who fit the team well: a go-to scorer in Dinwiddie who was beloved during his time in Brooklyn, and a long, defensive minded forward in Finney-Smith. I can see them still contending this season, and they’re likely not yet done at the deadline.
What used to be a team of three superstars and not much else is now a very deep rotation surrounding Kevin Durant. That’s not a bad way to end the Kyrie Irving era in Brooklyn.
But it didn’t have to end like this. In 2019, the Nets put together the start of something brilliant and new. Despite how much draft capital they had lost in the Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce trade of 2013, they had a great collection of young talent in D’Angelo Russell, Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert. Things were looking up in Brooklyn.
When the offseason came around, the Nets wanted to go bold, signing Irving, Durant and trading for James Harden. The Nets did all of that, but at a cost; Russell, Allen and LeVert were all eventually traded. None of this mattered, though, as the Nets had championship aspirations and a shiny new superteam.
Unfortunately, what was once a team that overperformed became a team that would routinely underperform. The Nets gave up their future just to lose a heartbreaking Game 7 to Milwaukee that year and get swept by the Celtics a year later.
Irving and Harden are now both gone, and Durant’s future with the team is in jeopardy. He had already requested a trade over the summer, and the superstar may not be happy enough to stick around much longer.
For as solid as Dinwiddie and Finney-Smith are, they’re not going to lead you to the playoffs once Durant leaves.
After working so hard to recover from the disastrous Pierce and Garnett trade, the Nets made the same mistake in acquiring Irving and Durant. And now, they’re starting to suffer similar consequences as they did years ago.
If I’m Brooklyn, I’m shifting my focus to either one of two things: I’m either doing everything I can to convince Durant to stay, or I’m looking to trade him right now. You still have a solid present, but what about beyond?
The future is so imperative to a Nets team that has given up so much for three players, and they must decide if the last one standing will be a part of it. They can’t let him walk for nothing. And if he does, I’m not sure Nets fans will forgive this front office for ruining their team.
I’m very thankful I get to watch the Dallas Mavericks play for the rest of the season, and for their sake, I hope my analysis was right. And I’m just as thankful that I’m not the Nets right now, who are stuck cleaning up the mess they created by failing to learn from past mistakes.
