SI

NBA Players React to Blockbuster Kyrie Irving Trade

Two days after the star point guard requested a trade, the Brooklyn Nets sent him to the Dallas Mavericks.

Zach Koons

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The first major move of the 2023 NBA trade deadline came together on Sunday as the Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving from the Nets, just two days after the star point guard asked out of Brooklyn. 

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Dallas sent back myriad assets in the deal, including guard Spencer Dinwiddie, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 unprotected first-round pick, a ’27 second-round pick and a ’29 second round-pick. The Nets also will send veteran forward Markieff Morris to the Mavs.

Rumors of a move involving Irving emerged on Friday, when multiple reports indicated the eight-time All-Star had requested a trade away from the Nets after extension talks between him and the front office broke down. Suitors quickly emerged, including the Lakers, Clippers and Suns, but it was the Mavericks who made an aggressive push on Sunday to find another star to pair alongside Luka Dončić.

The trade of one of the league’s premier talents sent social media into a frenzy on Sunday afternoon. Perhaps one of the best responses to the trade came from one of the players involved: Dinwiddie. 

“When @ShamsCharania says it’s time to go you pack your bags,” Dinwiddie wrote on Twitter upon finding out he was part of the trade. “Plus Elijah said he wanted to go back home.”

Dinwiddie was far from the only player to comment on the blockbuster trade, as a number of NBA stars took to social media to express their surprise, shock and/or disappointment that Irving is now a member of the Mavericks.

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Zach Koons
ZACH KOONS

Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a breaking/trending news writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the "Bleav in Northwestern" podcast and received a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University.

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