Kyrie Irving Gets His Way, Forces Divorce With Nets As All-Star Is Traded To Dallas Mavericks

New York City to Dallas ... who wouldn't want to make that move ... (no income tax, anyone?). It took two days for the Brooklyn Nets to finally get All-Star Kyrie Irving off their books after he requested a trade, and now he's headed to the Dallas Mavericks.

According to The Athletic and Stadium's Shams Charania, the Brooklyn Nets have traded Irving to the Mavs in a blockbuster trade mere days from the Feb. 9 trade deadline.

The move was a long time coming for the Nets and Irving, who endured a rift since Kyrie first made his decision to remain unvaccinated, ruling him out of action at the start of the 2022 season based on the city's vaccine ordinance and the team leadership's own decision.

Brooklyn furthered their discourse with Irving after owner Joe Tsai jumped on the anti-Semitic outrage against Irving when the player tweeted out a link to a Black Israelite-inspired film titled "Hebrews To Negroes." As a result, Tsai suspended Irving for eight games and gave him a six-step to-do list to rehab his way back to the team.

Irving and the Nets couldn't reach a contract extension and the All-Star guard was reportedly willing to sit out the rest of the season to sign elsewhere next season as a free agent. The Nets had no option but to trade Irving without risking not getting anything back in return.

The Nets will send Irving and veteran guard Markieff Morris to the Mavs and Dallas will send back point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick and multiple second-round picks, according to Charania. Dinwiddie played with the Nets as recently as 2021 before he was traded to the Washington Wizards, then to Dallas.

Dinwiddie joked about the trade news early Sunday, tweeting, "When says it's time to go, you pack your bags. Plus Elijah said he wanted to go back home."

News broke early Friday that Irving had requested a trade out of Brooklyn when his representation reportedly met with Brooklyn and both sides failed to see eye-to-eye on a contract extension.

Irving has averaged 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists this season.

Other teams reportedly interested in Irving included the LA Lakers and Clippers, but those options never appeared plausible based on their lack of "win-now" assets for Brooklyn.

This trade is seemingly a win for all sides as the Nets wipe their hands of all Irving controversies, and Kyrie heads to a team desperate for an All-Star complementing lead player Luka Doncic.

And in a not-so-shocking twist, Kevin Durant may already be on the way out of Brooklyn. According to Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes, the Phoenix Suns are putting out word on their interest to trade for KD now that the Nets lack a concrete plan to keep the 13-time All-Star after Irving's departure.