Dallas Mavs Trade Rumor - And Nets Coach Steve Nash Views on Kyrie Irving

"Frankly, continuity has been thrown out the window,'' Nash says.

DALLAS - Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavs find themselves knotted in the headlines this week, but for now, Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash simply wants to unknot his team's Kyrie-related hurdles.

"I'm excited to have Kyrie back," Nash said on Saturday. "Obviously, he's an incredible player, no matter what capacity we incorporate him in."

That "capacity'' for the All-Star who has yet to play in a game this season comes in the form of him becoming a part-time player for the Nets, a plan the team announced on Friday. All of this is of course a bow to Irving opting to remain unvaccinated in the face of the COVID issue, a health and safety protocol problem while playing in New York.

There is, of course, a continuity problem for the Nets as they try to mesh a standout player into the lineup while knowing that it may or may not be a permanent addition.

""Frankly, continuity has been thrown out the window,'' Nash said at it regards not only Irving - who hasn't played in a game all season - but others who have dealt with injury and illness issues ... and others who will surely do the same moving forward.

For now, the Nets can rely on the fact that they went 21-9 in their first 30 games of the season, and that they presently own the first seed in the Eastern Conference. 

And as far as where the Mavs (who are 14-14 and play at Minnesota tonight) come into play? Team owner Mark Cuban has denied a report that Dallas has been in contact with the Nets while thinking of trading Kristaps Porzingis for Irving. And our Dalton Trigg writes here about another approach to acquiring the controversial Irving while adding him to a Luka Doncic-led lineup that includes Porzingis.

From Trigg: "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.''

Of course, from the perspective of the Nets ... he could really change their level of success, too.