Somehow I Actually Believe in the Kyrie Trade

When I heard that Kyrie was requesting a trade less than a week before the trade deadline I had no idea what would happen. The first question that came to mind was, "What teams would even want Kyrie?" and the second was, "What value does he even have this close to going into free agency?" I had several immediate answers to the first question including the Lakers, Heat, and Timberwolves. Secondary potential teams included the Mavericks and Jazz. The real kicker was the second question. The Nets only had five days to move the guy, so they had to take whatever teams were willing to give. So when I saw that the Mavericks were sending two starters and an unprotected first round pick to Brooklyn I was a little surprised.

pc: Getty Images

Continuing the previous thought, I want to talk about Brooklyn first. We have to remember that just a few years ago this team managed to bring in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden to form what was supposed to be the best core in the league. Now, just a few short seasons later, Durant is all that remains. I can only suspect that the Nets try to compete for the remainder of this season, but after this year they will probably be forced to blow things up. I think Durant will want out sooner rather than later, and after he's gone what do they have? A ton of role players, that's the answer. Expect a ton of trades over the next year or two in an effort to revitalize this team, because whether they decide to tank or compete that's what it's going to take.

Alright now onto the fun stuff. Most non-Mavericks fans are in agreeance, Kyrie going to a new team probably isn't going to work out for that new team. After requesting his way out of Cleveland he's caused significant trouble in both Boston and Brooklyn. However, I am in the minority, because I believe this has a great chance of working out for Dallas. Let me ask you this, what teammate is the only teammate that Kyrie has been able to successfully play second fiddle to? LeBron. Now, what star player in the league has the closest skillset to LeBron? Luka. I do think that if Kyrie is going to succeed with any player other than LeBron it will be Luka. I think it's time that Kyrie puts his head down and actually succeeds on a basketball court, and Luka has the perfectly compatible playstyle for this to happen.

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The biggest issue for the Mavericks at this point is their depth. They have Luka and now Kyrie of course, but besides that the only notable player they have is Christian Wood. Dinwiddie and Finney-Smith are two very solid role players getting sent to Brooklyn in this deal, depleting the Mavericks' depth. I could see Dallas trying to make another move before Thursday in an effort to cement their lineup before jumping into the Doncic and Irving era. Obviously the most pressing matter is convincing Kyrie to re-sign with Dallas this off-season. I don't think the team is good enough to treat him as a rental, if they are smart they will do all that they can to convince Kyrie to stay for at least two more seasons. If they can manage to do that and then strengthen their depth in the off-season I think this team could be a serious problem. As far as this season is concerned, anything could happen. You put two talents like Luka and Kyrie in the playoffs and they can beat any team in a series, I just don't think that that's going to happen. As weird as it may sound considering we are talking about Kyrie, I think this is a long-term process.

All in all, this could go two very different ways. Kyrie could finally hit his stride playing alongside Luka and this team could do some serious damage, or this could be just be another stop on Irving's path of franchise destruction. I want to believe that it will work, mainly because I think it will be a lot of fun. However, I understand those who have doubt, because all we've seen from Kyrie in the past half-decade is personal turmoil and overall failure when it matters. I guess at this point it's just a waiting game, and personally I am willing to wait and see.