Revisiting the Nets' Kyrie Irving Trade: Does Irving get the Last Laugh?

Revisiting Brooklyn's shipping off of Kyrie Irving following his series win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

May 3, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) drives to the basket past / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

In a hectic 2019 offseason that shook up the entire NBA, the Brooklyn Nets were headlining it as the team that was only going to settle for a championship for years to come. Of course, with the help of 2017 and 2018 Finals MVP Kevin Durant and 2016 NBA champion Kyrie Irving.

Irving got there with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015, 2016 and 2017. While Durant got there with the Golden State Warriors in 2017, 2018 and 2019. It seemed almost inevitable that not only would this tandem seamlessly find their way to another Finals yet again, but they were going to do it side by side this time.

On the Nets, Durant would average 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists per game. His running mate would put up 27 points, six assists and five rebounds a game. Looking back, it’s fair to say that injuries stood in the way of Brooklyn getting to the Finals in 2020 and 2021 for Irving and Durant. Irving went down with a right ankle sprain in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals versus the Milwaukee Bucks and he ended up missing the rest of the series, a series that went all the way. It took an overtime of a Game 7 to determine a victor. 

With both players fully healthy in their 2022 playoff run, a tragic and embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics in the 2022 first round was the last straw for this tandem. Before the trade deadline of the 2022-23 season, Irving was uncertain on his future with the franchise. The Dallas Mavericks figured it would be a good time to trade for him and Markieff Morris. In exchange, the Nets would receive a 2029 unprotected first-round draft pick, Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029. 

Durant, who did not agree with the direction of the franchise, demanded a trade not long after. The Nets granted his wish and traded him to the Phoenix Suns. In exchange, the Nets would get Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, four first-round draft selections, and a 2028 first-round pick swap. Although the Nets would receive players that have proven themselves on contending teams in the past, filling in the shoes of a Irving and Durant tandem has been quite the challenge, and Brooklyn did make these trades that would put that expectation on them.

After settling in on the Mavericks, the former Nets guard had this to say on finding out that Durant was also traded.

“We just cared about seeing each other be places that we could thrive, whether that be together or whether that be apart – I’m glad he got out of there.”

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