Report: How Luka Doncic made the Kyrie Irving trade to Dallas happen
Luka Doncic pushed for the Dallas Mavericks to trade for Kyrie Irving following a disappointing start to the 2022-23 NBA season.
DALLAS — Luka Doncic was the reason behind the Dallas Mavericks swinging for the fences and trading for superstar guard Kyrie Irving a month ago.
When the trade happened on Feb. 6, many thought the Mavericks pushed all their chips in the center of the table because the front office's roster construction during the summer of 2022 wasn't good enough.
Dallas let Jalen Brunson walk out the door for nothing. And with Doncic averaging over 30 points, he had grown discontent with the lack of production around him. Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Brian Windhorst, it was Doncic, out of frustration, who was reportedly "pushing the front office" to bring in a second All-Star-level player to help the Mavs try to win a championship.
Doncic didn't merely want a trade to happen at the trade deadline. He needed it.
Back on Jan. 18, MacMahon reported that the Mavericks' star "has strongly indicated he wants the Mavs to upgrade" their roster.
Doncic reportedly had grown exasperated by the offensive load he was tasked with carrying on a game-to-game basis. He has been averaging 33.4 points with 8.7 rebounds and 8.1 assists and has been in the MVP conversation for most of the season.
To add insult to injury, the Mavericks opting to let Brunson walk in the 2022 offseason, balking in offering the star guard his desired contract number, came back to bite the organization as Brunson has averaged a career-high in scoring with New York at 23.9 points per game.
Doncic watching his former co-star blossom on a Knicks team that is winning while the Mavericks floundered led the Mavericks' star to push the front office towards adding Irving once he formally asked for a trade from Brooklyn.
Irving's considerably low value made the Mavericks one of the few suiters, of which the Mavericks beat out the Lakers by agreeing to trade Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith to Brooklyn.
However, the move isn't exactly a risk-free bet. Irving, an unrestricted free agent, may leave the Mavericks in the 2023 off-season. If Irving leaves, it could mark the second-straight summer that a star guard walked for nothing in return.
And if Irving leaves, Doncic's long-term status with the Mavericks could also be in question. He has expressed an overwhelming desire to win, and until Dallas has a long-term co-star, it is hard to forecast the Mavericks being in the upper echelon of the Western Conference elites.
Feature image via Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports.
