Kyrie Irving gets brutally honest about the real winner in the Nets-Mavericks trade

Kyrie Irving is in his second full season with Dallas Mavericks after trade with Brooklyn Nets in 2023 it brought him to Dallas. As the NBA trade deadline approaches, so does the anniversary of Irving being acquired by the Mavericks. After the Mavericks’ win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, Kyrie Irving jokingly reflected on the trade it landed him from the Nets, according to Noah Weber of The Smoking Cuban.

Irving was answering a question about PJ Washington, whose trade anniversary is also approaching. The Mavericks acquired Washington at the NBA trade deadline in 2024. Before moving on to the question, Irving decided to show a little humor when talking about his own craft.

“I think I was eighth, right? “So my anniversary is coming up,” Irving said. “Best trade in the business, baby! We got that trade, we got that trade! I was a bad commodity.”

The deal certainly worked in the Mavericks’ favor. Although they didn’t make the playoffs immediately after the Irving trade, they reached the NBA Finals last year for the first time since 2011.

Since being acquired by the Mavericks, Irving has appeared in 110 games. He averaged 25.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 49.5 percent from the field, 41.3 percent from the three-point line and 91.2 percent from the three-point line.

During the 2024 playoffs, Irving averaged 22.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.0 steals on 46.7 percent shooting from the field, 39 percent from the three-point line points and 84.9 percent from the free throw line. .

The full parameters of the trade included Irving and Markieff Morris being traded to the Mavericks with Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and several draft picks sent to the Nets. Dinwiddie has since found his way back to the Mavericks Finney-Smith was recently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

When Irving originally signed with the Nets as a free agent in the 2019 offseason, it was alongside Kevin Durant as they formed one of the most feared duos in the NBA. The prevailing thought was that the Nets were on their way to title contention. That was further reinforced when the Nets traded for James Harden to form a new Big 3.

But the trio’s time in Brooklyn was fueled by disappointment and injury problems. Durant was unable to make his Nets debut until the 2020-21 season as he recovered from an ACL injury. Irving has dealt with his own injury problems and missed the last few games of the Nets’ 2021 playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks.