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The Dallas Mavericks have been looking for another star to put alongside MVP candidate Luka Doncic and it appears the Mavs have found one in All-Star Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving, a Hall of Fame talent but Hall of Fame distraction at times. He has been traded to Dallas but is not likely to debut Monday night at the Utah Jazz. Doncic is out injured.

Mavericks Land All-Star Kyrie Irving In Trade From Nets, Not Likely To Debut Monday

The Mavericks beat out the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Phoenix Suns and a few other teams for Irving as they sent Brooklyn Spencer Dinwiddie (a former Nets guard), Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick, and 2027 and 2029 second-round picks for Irving and forward Markieff Morris.

Irving demanded a trade from the Nets on Friday, and Irving 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. The Nets weren’t going to play him again ahead of Thursday’s Trade Deadline. Irving missed two-thirds of last season due to his refusal to adhere to New York’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates and was suspended eight games without pay this season for promoting an anti-Semitic movie.

Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has a long history with Irving going back to their Nike days together. Dallas head coach Jason Kidd was also a proponent of the trade. The Mavs can wait to see how the rest of the season goes before deciding on a new deal for Irving. He is in the final year of his current contract and has been seeking in the neighborhood of a four-year, $198.5 million maximum extension available to him until June 30. He is also eligible to sign a two-year, $78.6 million extension with the Mavericks until June 30.

Dinwiddie had had the best season of his NBA career in Brooklyn prior to the current campaign. Appearing in 64 games during the 2019-20 season, Dinwiddie averaged 20.6 points, 6.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds. The Nets didn’t want to just punt on the season and think they can still contend with Dinwiddie and Finney-Smith around Kevin Durant when he is back healthy and Ben Simmons.

The Mavericks currently sit at 28-26, which has them in sixth in the West standings — though just 2.5 games back from the third-place Sacramento Kings, and three games ahead of the 13th place Los Angeles Lakers.

Between Irving getting to Utah and passing a physical, he likely won’t be cleared in time for Monday. Doncic missed Saturday’s game with a heel injury and won’t play Monday, either, meaning the earliest the duo could play together would be Wednesday at the LA Clippers.

Because Dallas will be so short-handed on Monday, the Jazz are nearly double-digit favorites. They haven’t played since a 115-108 home loss to Atlanta on Friday. Big man Jarred Vanderbilt didn’t participate in Utah’s practice Sunday due to lower back spasms and is iffy for this one. He has been rumored on the trade market. So have guards Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson.

The Mavericks and Jazz have split two meetings this season. The home team has taken the last nine regular-season meetings. Six of the last seven regular-season matchups have been decided by eight-or-fewer points. They just played on Jan. 28 in Utah and the Jazz won 108-100.

Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points and Malik Beasley added 19. Jordan Clarkson added 14 points for Utah, and Walker Kessler had 14 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks. Doncic missed that one. Dinwiddie had 35 points and eight assists for Dallas. Reggie Bullock had 19 points, and Josh Green and Finney-Smith chipped in 11 apiece.

The Jazz have played in the most clutch games in the league with a record of 14-18 (.438). The of these games have led to three overtime victories, with the Jazz remaining undefeated in OT.