NBA analyst believes Kyrie Irving trade will continue to haunt the Dallas Mavericks
Trading for Kyrie Irving appears to be more of a headache than initially expected.
DALLAS — As the hours tick down to the NBA Draft lottery Tuesday night, where the Dallas Mavericks have their fingers crossed and their eyes shut, saying a prayer to hold on to their top-10 protected pick, the one reality that is still haunting is the mid-season Kyrie Irving trade which can now be characterized as the disappointment that continues to get worse.
Irving, an unrestricted free agent, could leave the Mavs this summer in free agency following a horrific end to a season in which the Mavericks believed they would be in the NBA Playoffs. Dallas tanked the final games of the season to improve their chances at holding on to a top-10 protected pick that conveys to New York if it falls out of the upper half of the lottery.
The fact that with Irving and Luka Doncic, the Mavericks are concerned with the draft lottery is proof of the shortcomings and shortsightedness of the past season. And in a Bleacher Report article identifying trades that are haunting teams this offseason, the Mavs' move for Irving was named as one of them.
"Zooming all the way out, the Mavericks should regret trading for Irving because of the worst-case fallout if this whole experiment fails. Bereft of picks and appealing trade pieces, Dallas could bring back Irving and still fall short of contending," B/R's Grant Hughes wrote.
"The Irving deal doesn't have the potential to make Dallas a contender, even if everything breaks right," Hughes added. "And all the downsides—losing Irving in free agency, paying handsomely for Irving to miss loads of games, ultimately losing Doncic altogether—are very real.."
Dallas has a chance to confirm its worst possible timeline. The reality of a lottery pick falling to the Knicks, the limited trade moves that are available if the Mavs lose the pick, and the lack of free-agent prospects outside of Irving, present the uncomfortable reality that the Mavs could in fact be worse next season than they were last year.
So, in more ways than one, the Irving trade is haunting. It was a move that represented a push to win now. It exploded in the Mavs' face. And if Irving walks the team may have absolutely nothing to show for trading Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie.
When it is all said and done, that reality — or nightmare — is rather chilling.
