Just last week, Kyrie Irving told the Brooklyn Nets that he no longer wanted to be on the team. Originally, Irving was excited to potentially return on a long-term deal. However, his tone quickly changed after the Nets hit him with a deal that contained some unique stipulations. Overall, Kyrie was downright insulted by it all and opted to demand a trade. Moreover, he told the Nets that if he were to not be traded, he would just walk in free agency.
For the Nets, trading Kyrie was an easy decision. You never want to lose a player as talented as Kyrie for absolutely nothing. Furthermore, there are a ton of desperate teams out there who would pay a lot of assets for Kyrie. The team who ultimately won this bidding war was the Dallas Mavericks. They gave up Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick, and two second-round picks. As it turns out, the Nets liked this deal the most as it allows them to remain competitive in the immediate future. However, teams like the Los Angeles Clippers ultimately got the short end of the deal.
Clippers Lose Out
According to Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer, the Clippers had an interesting package for the Nets. This included Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, a first-round pick, and two more second-round pick swaps. While this is a very solid offer, the Nets simply preferred what the Mavericks were giving up. For the Clippers, this was a deal that made sense given the fact that John Wall hasn't been the point guard they were hoping him to be.
Overall, the Nets' situation has been very interesting to track. Irving caused all kinds of issues in Brooklyn, and it was only a matter of time before this happened. Despite things appearing to be resolved, the Nets are now down to Kevin Durant and a diminished Ben Simmons. Only time will tell whether or not they can get it together in time for the postseason. Stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news from around the sports world.
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