Kyrie Irving is now officially going to Dallas!
Irving’s former team, the Brooklyn Nets, have agreed to trade the 30-year-old star point guard to the Dallas Mavericks, the Mavs announced Monday.
The Nets will receive Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and three future draft picks in the deal.
The Mavericks posted a tribute tweet to their newest star on Monday afternoon, welcoming Irving to town.
Welcome to Dallas, @KyrieIrving!#MFFL pic.twitter.com/p70CWK3iwp
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 6, 2023
Irving requested a trade from the Nets on Friday, saying that if he was not moved before the NBA’s trade deadline of Feb. 9 he would consider sitting out the remainder of the season before becoming a free agent this summer.
Irving himself posted a heartfelt tweet directed toward his former NetsWorld fanbase Sunday, thanking them for love and support “on and off the court.”
“It will always be love from me and my family,” the All-Star wrote, who will be wearing the number 2 for his new team.
Thank you NetsWorld fans and supporters for the Love on and off the court. I will forever be grateful I got to live out my dream I had as a Kid with y’all. It will always be Love from me and my family.
🤞🏾♾— Chief Hélà 🤞🏾 (@KyrieIrving) February 6, 2023
Irving’s trade request came as a surprise to NBA fans after Irving’s prior comments regarding his loyalty to Brooklyn, and in particular, his former teammate Kevin Durant.
In April 2022, Irving told CBS Sports, “When I say I’m here with [Kevin Durant], I think that it really entails us managing this franchise together alongside Joe [Tsai], and Sean [Marks], and just our group of family members that we have in our organization.”
There was no shortage of teams interested in possibly adding Irving to their roster, including the Los Angeles Lakers. Former Laker Magic Johnson and current superstar LeBron James both offered up their hopes prior to the trade deadline that Irving might don the purple and gold.
In an interview with ESPN Sunday, James, 38, said he’s “definitely disappointed” after hearing then-unconfirmed reports that Dallas Mavericks reportedly landed Irving over the Lakers.
James, who won the 2016 NBA championship alongside Irving in Cleveland, said, “I can’t sit here and say I’m not disappointed on not being able to land such a talent.”
The Lakers star continued to describe his former teammate as someone he “had great chemistry with” while the two were Cavaliers. He added that Irving is “someone on the floor that can help you win, you know, championships, in my mind.”
In addition to his well-publicized refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Irving has caused considerable ripples in the NBA of late, having been recently under fire for promoting an antisemitic film, though Irving claimed at a press conference that posting a link to the film did not mean he was condoning it.
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