Getty Head coach Jacque Vaughn of the Brooklyn Nets.
It might behoove the Brooklyn Nets (31-20) to be proactive in the wake of Kyrie Irving’s trade demand, a departure from their tactics when his teammate, Kevin Durant, this past offseason when he tried to force his way out of town.
Irving’s latest ripple comes after the team offered him a contract extension with stipulations regarding the Nets winning a championship.
Talks broke down amid reports the differences are irreconcilable even with an improved offer.
This seemingly leaves the Nets stuck since Irving can leave for nothing in the offseason and could push them firmly into “deal now” mode. Irving has not facilitated a list of preferred destinations, per ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski but there are teams that remain interested in the mercurial guard and, fortunately for one of them, the Nets may have interest in what they have to offer too.
Brooklyn ‘Would Covet’ Former Nets Star
“It’s believed that Brooklyn would covet former Net Spencer Dinwiddie and in-demand swingman Dorian Finney-Smith in a prospective trade with the Mavericks,” reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line, “while Dallas would surely insist on moving off at least one of its longer contracts…in a theoretical Irving deal.”
Nets Get:
- Davis Bertans
- Spencer Dinwiddie
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- Tim Hardaway Jr.
Mavericks get
- Seth Curry
- Joe Harris
- Kyrie Irving
Among the potential suitors, Dallas’ biggest advantage is that it has several players who are not only of interest to the Nets but who also figure to be useful players in a playoff run. That is significant if Brooklyn plans on keeping Durant.
To this point, Durant has not renewed his trade request but it is certainly a matter of interest to other teams, per Wojnarowski.
Dallas might balk at the deal above but they do have multiple connections to Irving.
“Would the Dallas Mavericks take Irving? ‘Yes,’ high-ranking officials with knowledge of the Mavericks’ plans said in texts…multiple times,” reports Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo! Sports.
Bertans, 30, has seen his role and playing time greatly diminished over the last two years. But he is still 6-foot-10 and shoots the three-ball with solid efficiency – 38.1% this season, 39.7% in his career. The rub on the big man is that he is in the third year of a five-year, $80 million contract with a $16 million player option in the final year.
Dinwiddie was a member of the 2019 Nets squad that snapped the franchise’s three-year playoff drought but was traded to the Washington Wizards as part of a five-team deal after tearing his ACL in the 2021 season.
The 29-year-old is in Year 2 of a three-year, $54 million contract averaging 17.6 points on 59.7% true shooting (40% 3P) with 5.3 assists and 3.1 boards.
He also comes with a rather lengthy list of injuries in his career including multiple ACL tears.
Finney-Smith, 29, is averaging 8.9 points on 55.3% true shooting while knocking down 35% of his triples with 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists after inking his four-year, $55.5 million deal this past offseason. Like Bertans, he has had better years shooting from beyond the arc connecting on 39.5% of his threes in the last two seasons.
The 30-year-old Hardaway is in the second year of a four-year, $75 million pact but, in a bit of a rarity, his contract declines in value going from over $21 million last season to just over $16 million in the final year in 2025.
He’s averaging 13.5 points though he has struggled with efficiency (51.7% TS)
Nets Could Get Haul for Kyrie Irving
Where things usually get really tricky is when it comes down to the draft compensation, though Dallas does have all of its own picks beyond 2023.
It is also important to note Stein says the Mavericks would look to part with one “or” the other of Bertans and Hardaway. But the deal above would get Dallas off of both contracts while bringing back a pair of useful pieces in addition to Irving. In addition to Stein’s reporting, a league source tells Heavy Sports NBA insider Sean Deveney that the Nets were already “considering” making an offer for Hardaway.
The Nets are said to be open to moving one or both of Curry – who did two stints in Dallas in 2017 and 2020 – or Harris both of whom would come off the books no later than after the 2024 season.
Irving’s latest demand could finally be the impetus Brooklyn needs to make a deal happen.