It was one of the biggest transfer news in the NBA when Kyrie Irving left the Brooklyn Nets to join the Dallas Mavericks. It was confirmed when Brooklyn Nets didn’t offer a contract extension for Kyrie. But most of the transfer rumors reported that he will join his old Cavaliers teammate Lebron at LA but it changed later on and Kyrie Irving joined Luka Doncic.
Initially, there was anticipation that Irving and Doncic would unite to create a powerful partnership, propelling Dallas to greater heights. However, their progress has taken a different course than what was predicted. Since the Irving trade, the Mavericks’ record has dropped to 7-13, and they are currently experiencing a four-game losing streak, which includes consecutive defeats against the lowly Hornets. While the chances of the playoff are not long gone their dreams of a Championship in the new Irving-Doncic era do not look good.
Irving was one of the top players in the Cavaliers lineup a few years back and they became a Championship team when their prodigal son returned. Lebron and Kyrie joined hands and won the Championship in 2016, this was supposed to be the great start of the era but Kyrie had different plans. Rumors swirled about Kyrie’s intention of not playing alongside Lebron and requested a trade in 2017. Irving rejected this notion in an interview with ESPN:
[Leaving] was inevitable, I could feel it. I didn’t feel the need to say anything because I knew the truth, and so did they. So, it didn’t matter what others said. They didn’t want me there. Like, keep it real, If I was still in Cleveland, I would be … like everything that was foreseen to happen, happened.
Irving in 2017
After being traded to Celtics Kyrie remained with Boston for a brief 2-year spell. Then he went on to join Brooklyn for free to form one of the most infamous duos in the Irving-Durant era.
Once again, this duo failed and Brooklyn got nothing out of this trade as Irving’s off-court actions made a lot of controversies. Brooklyn was aware that they needed to separate from Kyrie due to his off-court controversies outweighing his on-court contributions in value.
Kyrie felt this was disrespectful in the interview:
I know I’m going to be at a place where I’m celebrated and not just tolerated, There were times throughout this process when I was in Brooklyn where I was really disrespected.
Irving on leaving Nets
Irving-Doncic era is having a lot of issues from the start, but the recent low in which they blew the 27-point lead to the Lakers, losing two times to the fourth worse NBA team in Hornets. This led to the Mavericks being booed by their own fans. After seeing this Kyrie couldn’t control his anger in an interview after the match:
I’ve been in New York City, so I know what that’s like, you obviously want to play well, but it’s only five people on the court that can play for the Dallas Mavericks. If the fans wanna change places, then hey, be my guest. Got years of work ahead to be great enough to be on this level.
Irving on Fans booing
These might be the signs that Kyrie himself talked about after leaving Brooklyn. This kind of “disrespect” is what led to Kyrie’s transfer from Brooklyn.
While the same can be said for the Slovenian wonderkid. Luka was left frustrated after the third straight loss. In the post-match press conference after the match Doncic said:
Yeah, it’s really frustrating, I think you can see it with me on the court. Sometimes I don’t feel it’s me. I’m just being out there. I used to have fun, smiling on the court, but it’s just been frustrating…
Luka Doncic
This frustration during the race for the playoff can lead to severe problems for the Mavs. Irving is also in the final year of his four-year contract that he signed with the Nets. If Mavs fail to get into the playoff then the Irving-Doncic era could get a premature end.
