Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving has reached an agreement to sign for Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks, according to American outlet The Athletic. Irving himself, who had a controversial time with the New York team, had requested the transfer before the NBA transfer market was scheduled to close on February 9 when he saw negotiations for his extension faltering. For Dallas, it’s a luxurious reinforcement that can help Doncic achieve anything this season.
As part of the deal, which has not yet been made official, forward Dorian Finney Smith, 29, and point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, 29, will be traded from the Mavericks to the Nets, who will also receive various pickup trucks. Up-rights players in future drafts. Markieff Morris, 33-year-old power forward, accompanies Irving to Dallas.
The Nets were the only team to have two starters in this month’s All-Star game: Irving himself and Kevin Durant. Now that privilege has passed to Dallas, a team that depended on Doncic to the hilt. Although the Slovenian is having a great season, the Mavericks are only sixth in the Western Conference.
Doncic has conquered personal exploits. He went on a 10-game streak averaging more than 40 points and in December became the first player in the NBA to have 60 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a game. Despite his average of 33.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game, insider player injuries have weighed on the team.
The big question is how Irving will adjust to the Mavericks (and how will he get along with Doncic). His talent is beyond doubt. He’s averaging 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game this year, and he’s propelled the Nets to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Irving, 30, was selected for the All-Star eight times, four times for Doncic at age 23.
The point guard, who is in his final year of contract and earns $37 million a season, did not appear in this Saturday’s Nets game against the Wizzards amid negotiations for his departure, though the official reasoning was a little muscular and a slight pain.
Irving joined the Nets in 2019 to open an ambitious sports project that would involve Kevin Durant and James Harden. Between injuries and lack of continuity, the ambitions of this project were far from reality. Overall, the Durant-Harden-Irving trio only shared the track in 16 games. Irving himself has barely played half of his team’s games since joining the Nets, who lost early in the 2020 and 2022 playoffs and the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals.
Last season, Irving only appeared in 29 of his team’s 82 games. His refusal to get vaccinated against the coronavirus prevented him from playing in New York. The team initially punished him by not playing away either, although they later allowed him to.
NBA champion in 2016 with LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers, his career has been marked by controversy in court. Before refusing to receive the Covid vaccine, he repeatedly asked if the earth was round, although he later apologized. The last was his endorsement of an anti-Semitic film, which cost him a temporary removal from the team and the breach of a lucrative deal with Nike.
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