Getty Josh Green of the Dallas Mavericks.
As more time elapses after the Dallas Mavericks‘ blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets, more and more details, about how they landed Kyrie Irving, come to light.
According to The Athletic’s Tim Cato, the Mavs had no interest in including Josh Green in a deal for Irving, despite the Nets’ “strong interest.”
“Several sources indicated the team prioritized Josh Green, a blossoming 22-year-old wing, to not being included in the trade despite Brooklyn’s strong interest in him,” Cato wrote.
Green has been solid for Dallas all season. He’s appeared in 34 of the team’s 54 games, playing 22.7 minutes each time. The 22-year-old averages a career-high 8.1 points per game, to go along with 2.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. He has also been having the most efficient year of his career, shooting 55.4% from the field and 41.3% from beyond the arc.
Those numbers make the Australian-born wing even more valuable to the Mavs, on top of his already team-friendly rookie-deal. Both factors likely played a part in the team wanting to keep him out of trade talks.
Green would also be a great piece for Dallas to involve in a rebuild, like the one that Cato hinted that they could pull off this summer should they let Irving walk.
“If Dallas doesn’t re-sign Irving this summer, the team would have around $30 million in cap space in an uninspiring free agency market to retool its roster around (Luka) Dončić,” Cato explained.
The full swap between Dallas and Brooklyn saw the Mavs give up Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first-round pick, and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029, in exchange for Markieff Morris and Irving, who had reportedly submitted a trade request just two days prior, on February 3.
Mavericks Want to Move Tim Hardaway Jr. After Kyrie Irving Trade
Dallas may not have been interested in including Green in any sort of deal. However it does sound like the front office wouldn’t mind offloading Tim Hardaway Jr.
According to Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News, Dallas has been looking to move on from the 30-year-old wing.
“Dallas has discussed options to move Tim Hardaway Jr., multiple people familiar with the Mavericks’ approach pre-Irving said,” Caplan explained.
She also touched on the Maverick’s thought process regarding the $75 million man.
“Though he can boost the offense when in a shooting rhythm, Hardaway’s contract is viewed as a long-term investment that doesn’t justify his streaky high-volume production while limiting the Mavericks’ future financial flexibility,” Caplan wrote.
Mark Cuban Shares Thoughts on Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving Trade
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban discussed the blockbuster deal for the first time on Monday. Cuban shared some thoughts with Basketball News, expressing excitement about the pairing of Irving and Dončić,
“I think this is going to be great for both of them,” he said via Basketball News. “They can play off of each other and given that both can get where they want on the court, it’s going to put a ton of pressure on defenses.”
The 30-year-old guard was selected to start this season’s NBA All-Star game.
Prior to asking out of Brooklyn, Irving appeared in 40 of the team’s 52 game. He averaged 27.1 points, 5.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds, while shooting 48.6% from the field, and 37.4% from deep.