The Dallas Mavericks traded for Kyrie Irving last year, and it worked out well for them, as he helped them make it to their first NBA Finals since winning it all in 2010-11. Despite losing to the Boston Celtics in five games during that series, the immediate future is looking good with him and Luka Doncic leading the way.
But before they completed the trade for Irving, Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban had to tread carefully because of the one-time NBA champion’s reputation of being a “team killer,” which he explained during a recent appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast.
“Honestly, before I did the work, I thought he was the team killer,” Cuban shared. “There was no reason for me to talk to people about him. If he doesn’t want to play when the Mavs come to town? Things don’t work out on another team? Great. But when the opportunity to trade for him came, it’s okay, let’s do the work.”
“Nico (Harrison) did the work. J-Kidd knew him. Nico knew him for years. It was like, okay, let me talk to folks. And everybody loved him. I knew all these owners. I knew the circumstances. So, it wasn’t a hard decision,” he continued.
What it cost the Dallas Mavericks to acquire Kyrie Irving
On February 6, 2023, the Dallas Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie (who is back in Texas), an unprotected 2029 first-rounder, and second-rounders in 2027 and 2029.
The first few months didn’t go smoothly for the Dallas Mavericks after the trade because they fell out of the playoff race. They even tanked the final few games to keep their first-round pick, who turned out to be Dereck Lively II, a key piece to their Finals run last season.
Irving signed a three-year, $126 million extension that summer, which turned out to be the right move for Dallas since it gives Luka Doncic a veteran co-star in the next few seasons.
