Kyrie Irving got his wish to leave the Brooklyn Nets and will be a member of the Dallas Mavericks, reports said on Sunday.
The Nets agreed to trade Irving to the Mavericks in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith a first-round draft pick and multiple second-round picks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The trade comes two days after Irving reportedly told the Nets he wanted to leave before Thursday’s trade deadline, otherwise he would depart as a free agent in July.
The 30-year-old is averaging 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 40 games this season for a Nets team that entered play Sunday with a 32-20 record and in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
He joins a Mavericks team in sixth place in the West with a 28-26 record and will pair with Luka Doncic in the backcourt.
Irving is considered one of the league’s top point guards, having recently been selected to start in his eighth All-Star Game coming up in two weeks, but he also has a history of controversy.
Vocally against the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination mandates, Irving was also sidelined for eight games in November after posting a link on social media to an antisemitic film.
Dallas will be the fourth franchise Irving plays for after he was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011.
He spent his first six seasons in Cleveland and won an NBA title in 2016 before being traded prior to the 2017-18 season to the Boston Celtics.
After two seasons in Boston, he signed a four-year contract with Brooklyn in July 2019.