Nets trade Kyrie Irving, Markieff Morris to Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, draft picks

Kyrie Irving is headed to Dallas.

The Dallas Mavericks struck a deal with the Brooklyn Nets in principle on Sunday to land Irving, just days after he requested a trade out of Brooklyn. The teams officially completed the deal Monday. In exchange, the Mavericks sent Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2027 second-round pick, a 2029 second-round draft pick and a unprotected 2029 first-round pick to the Nets. The Nets also sent Markieff Morris to the Mavericks as part of the deal.

Irving arrived in Dallas on Monday, and will likely make his debut with the team on Wednesday when they take on the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena.

Irving reportedly demanded a trade from the Nets on Friday ahead of the NBA trade deadline, and then sat out from their game against the Washington Wizards on Saturday due to a “calf injury.” The 30-year-old has averaged 27.1 points, 5.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 40 games this season.

Irving has been the center of several controversies during his more than three seasons in Brooklyn. He missed a large chunk of games during the COVID-19 pandemic after he refused to get the vaccine in accordance with New York City's mandate. He was suspended earlier this season, too, after he promoted a film that featured antisemitic hate and refused to apologize to it. He was suspended then after the team determined he was “unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets.”

In January, Irving was reportedly ready to start contract extension discussions with the team. He is in the final year of a four-year, $136 million deal, and was eligible for a maximum four-year extension worth about $200 million this offseason. It’s unclear where those discussions are with the Mavericks at this point. He will be a free agent this summer, but is eligible to sign a two-year, $83 million extension with Dallas now. Contract talks, per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, are expected to be put off until after the season.

While Irving comes with more off-court baggage than most, the Mavericks appear ready to make a legitimate push in the Western Conference after finally getting star Luka Doncic some real help. Doncic is averaging 33.4 points per game this season, second to Joel Embiid (33.5 ppg). The Doncic-Irving combo is averaging 60.5 points, better than the current top-scoring duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in Boston. Whether Doncic and Irving can mesh together like Tatum and Brown can, though, remains to be seen.

The Mavericks sit at 28-26 after Saturday night's loss to the Golden State Warriors, which has them in sixth in the West standings — though just two games back from the third-place Sacramento Kings, and three games ahead of the 13th-place Los Angeles Lakers.

Dinwiddie, who played for Brooklyn from 2016-21, has averaged 17.7 points and 5.3 assists this season in Dallas. Finney-Smith, who is in his seventh season in the league and spent it all with the Mavericks, has averaged 9.1 points and 4.7 rebounds.