Mavs BREAKING: Kyrie Irving Trade Official; 'No. 2' Joins 'Enticed' Luka Doncic
"In the backcourt for Dallas wearing No. 77 is Luka Doncic and wearing No. 2 is Kyrie Irving."
Can't you just hear Mike Breen announcing that right before tip-off of an NBA Finals game?
Okay okay ... we're getting ahead of ourselves there, but it's fun to think about about the possibilities regardless.
On Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks shocked the basketball world by trading for Irving and Markieff Morris, sending Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, a 2029 unprotected first-round pick and multiple second-round picks to the Nets in return.
And on Monday evening, the deal has gone official, with Irving having arrived in Dallas, having taken a physical ... and having been assigned jersey No. 24.
Dallas was immediately rumored to have interest in Irving once his trade request was demanded on Friday. And though speculation linked an Irving reunion with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in Hollywood, Mark Cuban and Nico Harrison struck a deal before any fellow contenders could.
In addition to potential hesitation on accepting Irving's off-the-court views, some may have questioned the fit alongside Doncic as well.
However, later on Sunday night, Marc Stein reported on his Substack that Doncic was 'sufficiently enticed' with the prospect of adding Irving to the fold.
"For all the justified skepticism in circulation already about how two such ball-dominant players will mesh, Dončić was sufficiently enticed by the potential here to sign off and return to a life in which he doesn’t have to carry the entire offense."
I mean, what else would Doncic be? Trading away his buddy in Finney-Smith is obviously tough, but that's the business, and when the front office answers your reported call on wanting roster upgrades, it's typically not paired with a frown when that plan is executed.
Irving just came from Brooklyn where he was paired with Kevin Durant, another shot-heavy, ball-dominant player. Irving played three seasons with James in Cleveland, and we all saw how that ended up: three NBA Finals appearances and a championship.
Point blank, Doncic has never played with another player as skilled as Irving, especially when looking at his past counterparts in the backcourt. And yes, that even includes Jalen Brunson, who left Dallas in free agency and is having a breakout year with the New York Knicks.
Irving arguably has the best handle in the league, if not ever, along with the ability to finish at the rim and hit tough, clutch shots with the best of the best.
We've all seen how abysmal this Dallas team looks when Doncic is not playing or is simply taking a breather on the bench, so adding Irving not only adds another superstar threat alongside Doncic on the floor, but it also adds a go-to scoring and playmaking threat when No. 77 needs a rest.
Stein added that if Doncic was against the move, Dallas would have balked and looked for upgrades as well as the franchise superstar 'possesses the juice' to halt any trade talks.
Doncic gets what Doncic wants, as he should, and, from what we can tell, he clearly wanted Irving alongside him.
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