When it comes to having personal issues clash with elite talent, that pretty much sums up the Kyrie Irving experience. However, despite the risks involved in adding Irving via trade, the Dallas Mavericks should consider swinging for the fences here in order to get their team to the next level sooner than later.
The Brooklyn Nets point guard has undeniable superstar talent, as he has proved time and time again. Although LeBron James will always get the most credit for bringing the Cleveland Cavaliers their first title in franchise history in 2016, it was Irving’s clutch three-pointer that sealed that series-clinching Game 7 against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors.
Since then, though, Irving has had a number of issues that have kept him off the court. Some of those issues have been injury-related, which is obviously out his control.
Some have been legitimate personal issues, as Irving grieved the loss of his grandfather in late 2018, which is something he said “sucked the joy out of the game” for him while he was in Boston. As a guy who has lost his only two remaining grandparents within the last 18 months, I can deeply sympathize with Irving there. That kind of stuff can really mess you up, and the grieving process is not a fast one. It lingers, and those grieving feelings can come out of nowhere later down the road and smack you in the face at any moment without warning.
However, the latest issue with Irving has to do with the COVID-19 pandemic, as he is adamant about not getting vaccinated right now. Will that change in the future? I suppose it could, but as of right now, it’s an issue Irving is not willing to budge on.
Although Irving could’ve been playing for the Nets on the road up to this point in the season, he wouldn’t have been able to practice or play for them at home due to New York’s vaccine mandate. Nets GM Sean Marks made the preseason decision to send Irving home until he was able to be a full participant… that is, up until recently when Brooklyn’s roster started taking a hit due to players entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols (Irving was set to make a return as a part-time player on the road for Brooklyn, but entered into the NBA’s health and safety protocols earlier today).
So yes, Kyrie Irving can be a lot to handle, but the Dallas Mavericks, who have proven to be a .500 basketball team through the first 28 games of this season, should take a chance on trading for him and forming a potentially elite backcourt with him and Luka Doncic. Here are the reasons why:
THE PERFECT STORM (MAYBE)
Despite Irving’s absence this entire season so far, the Nets are still the top team in the Eastern Conference by three full games. As it turns out, having two other MVP-level players in Kevin Durant and James Harden means you’re still capable of being one of the best teams in basketball, even without Irving in the mix. Since Irving could potentially be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and considering that Brooklyn hasn’t even offered him an extension up to this point, it’s not a stretch to think that his days as a Nets player are already numbered.
All of that, plus the extra baggage Irving brings with him, makes him one of the only high-profile names on the market that the Mavs could realistically land in a trade given the assets they currently have. One rumor stated that the Mavs had talks with the Nets about a Kyrie trade involving Kristaps Porzingis. I’d argue that Dallas could potentially pull off this trade without even including KP, given the circumstances.
As owner Mark Cuban told me in an exclusive Mavs Step Back Premium interview on Thursday, “no teams are going out of their way to help us.” As the old saying goes, ‘beggars can’t be choosers.’
PERFECT BASKETBALL FIT, IN THEORY
What is the thing we’ve been calling for the most when it comes to getting help next to Luka Doncic? Someone who is capable of being a legitimate No. 2 guy. Someone who can get his own shot whenever he wants, can be a secondary distributor and can run the offense himself when Doncic takes a breather. Irving checks all those boxes, and if healthy, he could really change the entire dynamic of this current Dallas roster.
Before the season started, we had network analyst Will Cain on our Mavs Step Back Podcast to discuss the idea of a Irving trade to Dallas before any of these rumors ever came up.
“It’s always something with Kyrie,” said Cain. “But we can’t deny the basketball player that is Kyrie Irving. … From a basketball perspective, you get almost exactly what you need with Luka. … I’d take Kyrie in a heartbeat on the Mavs.”
FEWER COVID RESTRICTIONS IN DALLAS
This one is kind of obvious, but since the state of Texas doesn’t have a vaccine mandate, it would make it a lot easier for Irving to play in the majority of the Mavs’ remaining games. To our knowledge, Mavs reserve point guard Trey Burke still hasn’t been vaccinated, and yet he’s played in 16 of Dallas’ 28 games so far, and the ones he’s missed have been DNP-CDs for the most part. If being able to play with less restrictions is something Irving wants, it would make more sense for him to be in Dallas than in Brooklyn.
Is a Kyrie-to-Dallas trade ideal? No, but Kyrie’s current situation in Brooklyn isn’t ideal, and the Mavs’ roster situation isn’t ideal right now either. This could be the only realistic way for the Mavs to add another star player this season, so despite all the potential hurdles, we simply ask, “Why not?” Great gains never come without some risk involved.
