Kyrie Irving is officially leaving the Brooklyn Nets to join forces with Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Irving requested to be moved ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline, and his wish was granted when the Mavs dealt for him on Sunday — a move that drew plenty of reactions from the NBA world.
Irving, who was recently selected as an an All-Star for the eighth time in his career, will certainly be able to help Doncic on the offensive side of the ball. The 30-year-old brings plenty of experience with an NBA championship under his belt (Cavaliers in 2016) and some solid stats as he is averaging 27.1 points, 5.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds through 40 games this season. He is doing so while shooting 48.6% from the field and 37.4% from beyond the arc.
The Nets will receive Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick and multiple second-round picks in the deal, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. After Charania broke the news, Dinwiddie — who played for the Nets from 2016-21 — was one of the first to comment on the situation.
“When @ShamsCharania says it’s time to go you pack your bags,” Dinwiddie tweeted. “Plus Elijah said he wanted to go back home.”
“Pure smoke in Dallas,” Lakers guard Patrick Beverley tweeted. “(Love) this League.”
Dallas becoming Irving’s new team caught a lot of people off guard, but some are already used to the craziness that happens around this time of the year — including Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young and Chicago Bulls center Andre Drummond.
“The NBA gonna NBA.. it’s that time of year. Wow!” Young tweeted.
Kristaps Porzingis, who used to play alongside Doncic but is now with the Wizards, only had one word to say: “wow.” He wasn’t the only one surprised, as multiple other players — current and former — expressed their surprise on social media.
Former NBA player Wilson Chandler said he would’ve liked to see Irving rejoin LeBron James on the Lakers, but overall he is one of the many fans who look forward to seeing the Irving and Doncic duo.
Some others took this opportunity to point out that there had been high expectations for the Big Three of Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden, but that the trio did not work out in Brooklyn the way many hoped it would.
Chandler Parsons — who played for the Mavericks from 2014-2016 — made sure to let team owner Mark Cuban know that he deserves an applause.
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