BREAKING NEWS: Kyrie Irving is traded to Dallas Mavericks and teams up with Luka Doncic while Brooklyn Nets bring in Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith
Kyrie Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks and ended his controversial tenure with the Brooklyn Nets.
Nets get Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick and multiple second-round picks in return for Irving, according to The Athletic. Markieff Morris is also traveling to Dallas.
The move sees Irving teaming up with Luka Doncic. The Mavericks next play the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
The Lakers have also been linked with a move for Irving, but according to ESPN, the Nets preferred the package Dallas offered. The picks the Nets receive in the deal are a 2029 unprotected first round pick, a 2027 second round pick, and a 2029 second round pick.
Earlier Sunday, it emerged that Irving was willing to sit out the remainder of the season with the Nets if they refused to trade him before Thursday’s deadline.
Irving had a difficult time in Brooklyn, beginning with his refusal to receive the Covid-19 vaccine during the 2020-21 season, which forced him out of the lineup for home games until New York City Mayor Eric Adams changed the city’s laws.
The latest controversy surrounding Irving and the Nets came earlier this season when he faced backlash for tweeting a link to an “anti-Semitic” film.
Irving initially refused to apologize or back down over the tweet before Brooklyn suspended him for eight games, eventually apologizing for sharing the 2018 documentary, which was based on a book described as “toxically anti-Semitic.” became.
Selected as a starter for the 2023 All-Star Game, Irving is averaging 27.1 points and 5.3 assists in 40 games this season and had recently led the team to a six-game or 30-plus point streak before it was snapped against the Lakers Monday night.
The Nets are fourth in the Eastern Conference standings with a 32-20 record and next play the Clippers at the Barclays Center on Monday night.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, are sixth in the Western Conference with a 28-26 record.
Dinwiddie, 29, meanwhile, returns to the Nets after five years in Brooklyn from 2016 to 2021, when he went to the Washington Wizards.
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