Kyrie Irving trade from Brooklyn Nets to Dallas Mavericks officially announced
By Matt Foster, Zoe Sottile and Steve Almasy, CNN
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has been traded to Dallas, the Mavericks announced Monday.
The Mavericks gave up guard Spencer Dinwiddie, forward Dorian Finney-Smith and three draft picks, Dallas officials said in a news release. The Nets also reportedly sent big man Markieff Morris to Dallas in the trade.
“Thank you NetsWorld fans and supporters for the Love on and off the court,” Irving tweeted Monday morning. “I will forever be grateful I got to live out my dream I had as a Kid with y’all. It will always be Love from me and my family.”
The trade was first reported Sunday by the Athletic and ESPN.
The controversial eight-time NBA All-Star requested a trade from the Nets on Friday, according to multiple reports. Irving will play alongside four-time NBA All-Star Luka Doncic with the Mavericks.
Irving is one of seven NBA players averaging at least 27.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game this season.
Earlier this season, Irving, 30, posted a link to a documentary on Twitter that contained anti-Semitic messages. He initially defended the tweet and refused to apologize, resulting in a suspension that kept him off the court for eight games in November. Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai said he was “disappointed” in Irving’s actions at the time.
The Anti-Defamation League declined a donation from the athlete after his suspension, and Nike later cut ties with him as well. Irving later issued several apologies to the Jewish community and met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver before his suspension was lifted.
The Mavericks release touted his philanthropy.
“Irving has donated $1.5 million to help cover the salaries of WNBA players who opted out of the 2020 season during the COVID-19 pandemic, paid off the tuition for nine students at HBCU Lincoln University, gave $323,000 to Feeding America during the COVID-19 pandemic, and partnered with City Harvest to donate 250,000 meals across the New York area,” the release said.
Irving, who averages 27.7 points — 11th in the league — in 40 games this season, helping the Nets to a 32-20 record.
The Mavs said he will wear No. 2. He is in the final year of a four-year contract worth more than $136 million, according to the sports salary tracking website Spotrac.
The Mavericks were in Utah for a game against the Jazz on Monday. They play at the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
CNN’s Jill Martin, Kevin Dotson and Jacob Lev contributed to this report.
