Kyrie Irving’s trade to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon sent a bevy of shockwaves across the NBA.
For example, players couldn’t believe the Brooklyn Nets would actually trade the All-Star guard. At the same time, fans considered the comical consequences for LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers. And meanwhile, we were over here wondering about Irving’s fit with Luka Doncic as the Mavericks’ title odds were adjusted by bettors accordingly.
The weeks and months ahead will have a more definitive answer on who came out on top from the mega-trade of Irving. But, with the initial dust settled, let’s examine the immediate winners and losers of one of the league’s top players changing teams and conferences.
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Winners
Luka Doncic
In his fifth year with the Mavericks, Doncic was already enjoying an arguable career year across the board. The superstar forward has recorded 11 games of at least 40 points this season (including three 50-plus-point efforts and a 60-burger). Yet, despite their talisman’s brilliance, the Mavericks are sixth in the Western Conference and barely over .500.
It remains to be seen how Irving will fit with Doncic. But on paper, he’s definitely the most talented running mate Doncic has had in almost half a decade in the NBA.
The Nets
Look, Irving’s a good player, great even. But I’d venture to guess that owner Joe Tsai and Co. were getting sick of his antics lately.
So, rather than continue putting up with Irving’s behavior, the Nets recouped the assets they could with a decent haul:
- Spencer Dinwiddie
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- A 2027 second-round pick
- A 2029 first-round pick (unprotected)
- A 2029 second-round pick
It’s really hard to argue with a return of two solid players and some future assets in exchange for a guy seemingly causing more headaches than he’s worth.
Eastern Conference contenders
That said, while the Nets are likely happy to be without Irving, any title chances they have without him have likely decreased.
This should be music to the ears of other Eastern Conference contenders like Jayson Tatum’s Boston Celtics, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks, and Joel Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers — the three teams just ahead of Brooklyn in the standings.
The Nets still have Kevin Durant (for now), but he probably won’t be enough to keep them afloat at the top of the East.
Losers
LeBron James
It’s a good thing LeBron James will likely break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record soon because he almost certainly won’t be winning a fifth career title now. Getting Irving onto the fledgling Lakers was James’ likely best chance of making a deep run in this postseason.
Instead, it’s back to focusing on individual marks and achievements for the time being.
Kevin Durant
After tearing his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals, Durant elected to leave a golden (no pun intended) situation with the Golden Warriors to strike out on his own. He would form a “Big 3” with Irving and James Harden in Brooklyn in 2020, and it looked like the trio would be the NBA’s next big thing.
Four years later, Durant’s Nets have never won more than 50 games in the regular season, they’ve won precisely one playoff series, and Irving and Harden are no longer in Brooklyn. Oh, and Durant is plausibly past his prime at 34 years old.
Life comes at you fast in the NBA.
Denver Nuggets
With the struggles of the defending champion Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns, the Western Conference seems wide open this year. And from the jump, the team at the head of the pack has been reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets.
While Denver is great, deep, and has a premier player leading it, the Nuggets were starting to look largely unopposed on a route to the NBA Finals in June. I don’t know how much an Irving and Doncic pairing can push the West’s leading juggernaut, but from a glance, they can certainly complicate Denver’s quest for a hopeful title.
