Wow. We have no words after seeing the first reports that Brooklyn has officially ended the Kyrie and Durant Era, starting the Kyrie and Luka Era in Dallas. The finished trade consists of the Mavericks acquiring Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris, while the Nets wind up with Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, a 2027 first-round pick, and Dallas' 2027 and 2029 seconds. Seeing that this whole process happened very quickly, it will be very interesting to see how the rest of the league reacts before the deadline.
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Can the Mavericks contend in the Postseason?
Going into the trade, Dallas was already the sixth seed in the Western Conference at 28-26. And as you can imagine, there is no way to go but up after bringing in an all-star starter in Kyrie Irving. Luka Doncic is definitely rejoicing at home right now, seeing that he now has a true star next to him for the first time in his career. Luka played with the likes of Kristaps Porzingis and Jalen Brunson earlier in his career, but the new duo with Irving will surely prove to be a completely different beast.
With the new trio in Dallas (Doncic, Irving, and Wood), there will be doubts about what they can do. None of the three are known to play lockdown defense, but they can hold their own and will more than make up for it on the offensive side of the floor. The other top dogs in the West are the Nuggets and Grizzlies, which means Dallas will likely have to go at least one of them if they hope to make it to the promised land. They should match up pretty well against these teams, but how the west unfolds will definitely be a show to watch.
What's Next for the Nets
The Brooklyn Nets have been the most interesting and bipolar organization in the NBA for a while now. After building a culture with D'Angelo Russell, Jarrett Allen, and the rest of them, they decided to go all in and acquire Durant and Irving in 2019. After a season where Durant was injured and Kyrie didn't travel to the bubble, they made another splash by bringing in James Harden in early 2021. Between injuries and a lack of time on the court together, the big three couldn't get the job done that season. After losing against the Bucks in the second round of that season's playoffs, it seemed like the trio would be a force to reckon with for years to come. However, James Harden had different plans.
Going into the 2022 trade deadline, more and more rumors of James Harden being dealt before the end of the season. Shocking everyone, Harden was traded to the 76ers, where Brooklyn ended the era of the big three and said hello to Ben Simmons. After starting off slow this season, they quickly picked up the pace and looked like all was well in Brooklyn. That all changed on February 3rd when Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the team, and the rest is history. Now, the future of the team lies in Kevin Durant's hands, where he was talked out of a trade request this past offseason because he didn't believe the Nets put together a team that could contend well enough. Chris Haynes has already reported that should Brooklyn make Durant available for trade this week, the Phoenix Suns will pursue a trade for the star. With only four days left of trade season, Brooklyn is surely not finished making moves to realize their identity.
Written by Adam Kerr
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