Mega-Trade Achieved: Kyrie Irving Goes to Dallas Mavericks

Feb 5, 2023 - 8:25 PM

Controversial guard Kyrie Irving is headed to the Dallas Mavericks in a trade that will bring Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith to the Brooklyn Nets. Draft capital will also be heading Brooklyn’s way in the deal. Irving, long considered to be one of the most talented point guards in the NBA, demanded a trade earlier this week. That request, along with two years of controversy over COVID-19 protocols and antisemitic comments, drove down Irving’s value to the point that an exchange was not only possible, but nearly-inevitable.

Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the news:

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.

Irving has averaged 27.1 points and 5.3 assists per game over 40 appearances with the Nets this season. He’s shooting 48.6% from the field, 37.4% from the three-point arc. He was also named to the pool of starters for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.

Irving will join fellow All-Star starter Luka Doncic in the backcourt for the Mavericks. How they will divide responsibilities is unclear. Doncic has a Usage Rate (percentage of team possessions used) of 38.5%, Irving 29.8%, leaving approximately two touches per game for the rest of the Mavericks roster.

Dinwiddie is averaging 17.7 points and 5.3 assists in 34.1 minutes per game for the Mavericks, shooting 45.5% from the field and 40.5% from the arc over 53 appearances. Dinwiddie played for the Nets from 2016-2021, five and a half seasons out of his nine in the NBA.

Finney-Smith, a 6’7 forward, averages 9.1 points and 4.7 rebounds in 32.2 minutes per game, having appeared 40 times for the Mavericks this season.

The Mavericks will also receive veteran power forward Markieff Morris in the deal. The 33-year-old is averaging 10.6 minutes per game and has played just 27 times this season for Brooklyn.

Charania followed his initial report, adding that the Nets will receive an unprotected 2029 first-round pick from the Mavericks in the deal, plus second-round picks in 2027 and 2029.