The Dallas Mavericks have entered the chat. Making this deal for Kyrie Irving has positioned the Mavericks as championship contenders. On Sunday, February 5, the Brooklyn Nets traded Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks along with Markieff Morris for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick in 2029, and two second-round choices (2027 and 2029). This will be the first time Luka Doncic has played with a fellow star player. How will Luka play now that he is not the sole focus of other teams’ scouting reports?
Last year Luka led the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals, where the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors would beat them. Outside of Jalen Brunson, Luka needed help. The Mavericks were aware of this and traded for Christain Wood in the off-season. Wood has helped some, but there has still been something missing. That something was another star to take attention away from Luka. Seven players in the NBA are averaging 27-5-5, and the Mavericks now have two.
While on the court, both of the Mavericks stars are amazing. The problem with Kyrie comes from the court. From the outside perspective, Kyrie has not left a situation better than he found it with any of his former teams. With the Cavaliers, he requested a trade because he wanted to be the main guy. With the Celtics, he told them he was coming back and then left in free agency. Then with Brooklyn, he missed games due to not being vaccinated, posted a movie on his platform that others found offensive, and could not play some games due to injury. Many outsiders view Kyrie as cancer that destroys teams.
The Mavericks have played their hand well with this trade. They did not give up too much to get Kyrie. All three picks are down the road, and while both traded players played prominent roles for the Mavs, they are not irreplaceable. The Mavericks can use the rest of this year as a trial of the Luka-Irving pairing. If they fail miserably, they can let Kyrie walk in free agency. However, the Mavericks can give him a contract extension if they flourish. The Mavericks designed this trade to benefit all sides. It will be hard to swallow giving up assets for a half-year rental, but it is worth it when a guy like Kyrie is made available.
The Mavericks can still make moves before the deadline to bolster their missing depth down low. Multiple bigs could come available. Guys like John Collins, Clint Capela, and DeAndre Ayton would all be good additions to this Mavs team pushing for a Finals run. This Mavs team has solid role players that contending teams in the East would love to have—allowing the Mavericks to add more valuable pieces to this roster.
Ayton would make the most sense for the Mavericks as it would give them a great big for not only this season but also a big to build around with Luka if the Irving trial goes up in flames. Trading a guy like Reggie Bullock to the Knicks for Cam Reddish would give the Mavericks more cap space to keep all their newfound stars. Everyone is passionately waiting to see what moves happen next. The deadline is fastly approaching, and come February 9, the league could look a lot different. In the meantime, Irving expects to have his Mavericks debut against the Clippers the day before the deadline.