Kyrie Irving is leaving the Brooklyn Nets. According to Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski, the Nets have decided to honor Irving’s trade request by sending him to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first round pick, and second round picks.
BREAKING: The Brooklyn Nets are trading Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round and multiple second-round picks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2023
The picks going Brooklyn’s way are a 2029 first rounder and 2027 and 2029 second round picks, while Markieff Morris is also part of the trade going to Dallas.
Clarify: Mavs are sending 2029 first-round pick to the Nets. https://t.co/6ZPNsMbhdQ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2023
The Mavericks are sending a 2029 unprotected first-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick and a 2029 second round-pick to the Nets, sources @TheAthletic @Stadium. Brooklyn also is sending Markieff Morris to Dallas. https://t.co/EtqlQqQuGq
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2023
While many assumed the Lakers would be the frontrunners for Irving, Dallas had plenty of reason to want to add some firepower to their lineup to provide some help for Luka Doncic. They were apparently willing to meet the Nets demands by sending Dinwiddie back to Brooklyn, alongside another 3-and-D wing in Finney-Smith, allowing the Nets to do their best to keep Kevin Durant happy this year and try to compete, while also adding some picks for the future.
Irving requested a trade on the Friday before the trade deadline, with reports indicating that he was not happy with the way discussions regarding a contract extension went with the Nets. Per reports, Brooklyn would not offer Irving a guaranteed contract, while Irving was strongly against signing a deal that included stipulations. As a result, the belief was that Brooklyn either had to trade Irving, or he would leave the team after hitting unrestricted free agency during the summer of 2023.
Irving has been productive when he has played this season, averaging 27.1 points, 5.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds in 37 minutes a night while hitting 48.6 percent of his attempts from the field and 37.4 percent of his threes. His campaign has been mired in controversy, however, and while he has largely managed to stay healthy, the Nets suspended Irving for eight games after he shared an antisemitic film to his Twitter account and refused to denounce antisemitism.