The Nets Won the Kyrie Trade
Kyrie Irving got his wish. He is no longer a Brooklyn Net. He wanted a trade before Thursday and the Nets front office obliged. I was kind of curious to see if he would actually sit out, but who knows with this narcissistic asshole. He is the worst. But, he was traded. He is gone. He is on a new team that he might end up corrupting, as he is wont to do.
Irving and Markieff Morris were traded to the Mavericks for Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie and a shit ton of picks. The picks are not going to be lottery picks, but they are picks nonetheless. Picks are coveted by teams nowadays in the trade market.
When the news broke that Irving had been traded I wasn't surprised. I knew he wanted to be moved, I read the Nets were going to move him and they wanted a haul. What took me aback was the fact he was traded to the Mavs. I was damn near certain he was going to go to the Lakers. Apparently they put up their future picks and a few players. Joe Tsai wanted nothing to do with the Lakers and I respect him freezing them out. The NBA doesn't have to help the Lakers just because they are the Lakers. There were better offers to be had and Tsai wanted one of those. I saw the Clippers offer, which what was reported seemed pretty awesome, but Tsai turned that one down too. I guess he really did not want to send Irving to LA. Again, I respect that. I know a few other teams were involved but those were never actually going to happen. But the Mavs came out and threw a haul at Brooklyn. They got picks, a very solid, young 3 and D wing and Dinwiddie could be decent there, or he could be bought out and the Nets can get someone else.
I like this deal for Brooklyn. They got some nice pieces to surround KD with, if he doesn't ask to leave. Finney-Smith is a good player. While on the Mavs he guarded the opposition's best offensive player pretty much every night. And he did a formidable job. During the playoffs last season Finney-Smith made life hell for the Suns. He blanketed Devin Booker when asked. Chris Paul had one of his worst playoff series ever, and Finney-Smith would guard him from time to time. Even on the rare occasion I watch the Mavs, I do not like them, Finney-Smith may not have been making his threes as much, but his defense was still on point. This will take a bit of pressure off KD and Nic Claxton. Adding a defensive minded player was a smart move for the Nets. This was an underrated move on their part. Dinwiddie, if he stays, can add some solid bench scoring. He and Seth Curry, while it could be rough on defense, can score buckets of points. Dinwiddie also played his best professional basketball on his first go round with the Nets. He can also be moved again for more picks or a younger player. This was a nice addition. And the picks, from what I have read, are going to be used for trade bait. The Nets want to build around KD and teams want picks. The Nets can go to some bottom feeders, like the Pistons and Rockets, and try to lure a player like Bojan Bogdanovic or Eric Gordon. This was a good trade for the Nets.
For the Mavericks, I do not know. I do not like Dallas. I despise Luka Doncic. I hate all the undo love he gets. I don't think Jason Kidd is a title caliber coach. Mark Cuban is a blowhard. I also do not like that they had to put Finney-Smith in this trade. Look, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are going to make for a deadly backcourt on the offensive end. There is only one ball and both guys are ball dominant, but Irving has shown he can play without the ball after playing with LeBron James and KD. I despise Irving as a person, but the dude can hoop. But this is a bad defensive backcourt. Defense is supposed to be what Kidd excels at coaching, but this is going to be a tough sell. Neither of these dudes want to exert much energy on defense. I also wonder how Kyrie is going to feel going to a team that has a clear driver. Luka Doncic is the face of the Mavericks. There is no doubt about that. Dallas fans seem to like his clunky boring style of basketball. I don't get it, but I am not a fan. I think it will work for a bit, but Kyrie Irving will get frustrated at some point. It's what he does. The Mavs also do not have much defense outside of Reggie Bullock now, and he is slipping. I already mentioned their piss poor backcourt defense. Tim Hardaway Jr, a player I adore, has never been a defensive minded guy. Christian Wood is only an offensive player. He is also on an expiring contract. He doesn't care about defense, he cares about numbers. Bullock is okay, but not as good as a year ago. JaVale McGee can't get on the floor. Jaden Harvey is a rookie and that wall is coming. Dwight Powell is soft. Davis Bertans is trash. Frank Ntilikina can't get any minutes. It looks rough. This team is going to have to outscore opponents. Which they are equipped to do. But it is going to be hard. The Mavs are currently 28-26 and 6th in the West standings. They are nine games behind the 1 seed, Denver Nuggets. But they are within striking distance of the 3 or 4 seed. They need to start winning and winning now. I am curious to see how they play together, but I do not have high hopes. I do think they can stay within the top 6 and miss the play-in, but that has more to do with the conference, not their talent.
I am lukewarm on this trade for the Mavs. I don't trust Irving and I don't like Luka Doncic. I do like the trade for the Nets though, if they can keep KD. He has some solid young talent around him at the moment. We will see, but I am glad that the NBA trade season is alive and well. It makes the deadline fun. I cannot wait to see who is moved next.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.