It was Sunday and the only football we had was the Pro Bowl, but the NBA certainly stepped in with the drama as the Brooklyn Nets traded Kyrie Irving just days after he requested that the organization find him a new home. He’s on his way to the Dallas Mavericks, where he’ll join forces with Luca Doncic.
In exchange, the Nets will receive solid role players in Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie, along with draft compensation. One would think that this trade went through with the mindset that the Mavs would be giving Kyrie Irving the massive deal that he could not get with the Nets.
Not exactly.
According to Marc Stein, the Mavericks haven’t promised a new contract to Kyrie Irving.
“No one in Dallas will come out and say it in these terms, obviously, but Irving is potentially just a rental.”
It’s hard to believe that Mark Cuban would make a move like this and not secure Irving for years to come. He may just wait and see what the team does in the Western Conference playoffs before trying to sign him longterm.
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The Dallas Mavericks are currently the 6th seed in the Western Conference table with a 28-26 record so far. Luka has to be Superman for the Mavs offense to work as he currently averages 33.4 points per game.
While Irving certainly helps with another playmaker who can create his own shot, the Mavs’ defense was already terrible to begin with and now it is slated to be even worse. Scoring 120 to 130 PPG is nice but they might have to do it to make up giving up just as much on defense.
The Western Conference is wide open this year with no clear cut best team that anybody can say that will emerge as an immediate Finals contender. The Mavs could easily sneak in and be that team if everything works out.
