Grading Brooklyn Nets-Dallas Mavericks Kyrie Irving Trade

That was quick.

Roughly 48 hours after Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, news broke that he'd been dealt to the Dallas Mavericks to play with Luka Dončić.

The Athletic and Stadium's Shams Charania was the first to report:

Given Irving's history (injuries and otherwise), it feels like a pretty good haul for the Nets and a high-risk, high-reward—with extra emphasis on the risk portion of that cliche—trade for the Mavs.

But there are layers to this, so the analysis certainly doesn't end there. Let's bust out the handy A-through-F grading rubric and see how each team did.

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Brooklyn Nets

The Haul: Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick, a second-round pick in 2027 and a second-round pick in 2029

Irving's career has been filled with scores of injuries, multiple trade demands, a still-mysterious absence last season and missed time because of noncompliance with local COVID-19 regulations. This season alone saw him request a trade mere months after being suspended for "publicizing a film containing deeply disturbing antisemitic hate" and failing to "disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so."

At this point, it's hard to imagine committing any amount of assets or trust to him. Or, as Bleacher Report's Dan Favale put it:

With those realities certainly considered by any team that dipped their toes into this particular rumor mill, it wouldn't have been all that surprising to see Brooklyn get next to nothing for Kyrie, whose contract expires after this season.

Whatever team that was going to end up with him was almost definitely going to be assuming the greater risk.

But this package from the Mavericks is far from next to nothing.

Any amount of draft capital should be seen as a win, and the Nets come away from this deal with an unprotected first-round pick and a pair of seconds. Given Luka's age, there's no guarantee that first will be all that helpful, but things change fast in the NBA. There's no telling where Dallas will be in six years.

And as for the players heading to Brooklyn, neither has the talent of Kyrie, but they've been more reliable. And if the Nets want to keep Kevin Durant and remain competitive this season, this trade should allow them to do that.

Spencer Dinwiddie is averaging 17.7 points, 5.3 assists and 2.6 threes while shooting 40.5 percent from deep as a secondary playmaker this season. His usage may not go up alongside KD, but his playmaking responsibilities probably will. And with Durant as his primary target, assists should be pretty easy to come by.

Dinwiddie's also proven willing and able to step back and let a superstar like Luka cook. Durant will likely get more on-ball opportunities with Dinwiddie in the lineup than he did with Irving. Ben Simmons will be allowed to run plenty of offense too.

The more intriguing piece, though, may be Dorian Finney-Smith, who gives Brooklyn yet another wing with good size, defensive ability and three-point range. Since the start of the 2019-20 campaign, DFS has averaged 10.0 points and 1.9 threes while shooting 38.3 percent from deep.

In concert with Durant, Simmons and Royce O'Neale, the Nets can lean pretty hard into the kind of small-ball, switch-heavy or positionless lineups that become very important in the playoffs. They don't check the defense box quite as well, but Yuta Watanabe, Joe Harris and T.J. Warren can fit that mold too.

The NBA is about star power, and most championship teams across history have at least two. Through that lens, this deal may set Brooklyn back, as Dinwiddie and DFS are solid but not stars.

But Irving is far from your typical NBA star. For nearly four seasons, it's felt like Brooklyn was held hostage by his various whims. Even in a stretch of relative calm, like the last few months, we were all just collectively waiting for the next "thing." This week, we got it.

The Nets no longer have to deal with any of that, which is a real benefit from this trade. Getting a playmaker who can give you some percentage of what Irving did, a talented three-and-D wing and multiple draft picks feels like a no-brainer.

Grade: A+

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Dallas Mavericks

The Haul: Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris

OK, now for the tougher part of the report card.

For plenty of professors, Kyrie's age (31 in March), injury history, all the off-the-court stuff and a play style that might conflict with Luka's would make for an easy F.

And honestly, I might not blame them for going there. But I'm going to try to look at this deal from the glass-half-full perspective, even if the glass might have just a few drops left in it.

To repeat, the NBA is about star talent.

Magic Johnson had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Larry Bird had Kevin McHale. Shaquille O'Neal didn't break through till Kobe Bryant made his star turn. LeBron James didn't win his first championship till he joined forces with Dwyane Wade. He didn't break Cleveland's sports curse without Kyrie. And while Stephen Curry was the obvious driving force of Golden State's dynasty, he doesn't have four championships without Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and KD.

As good as Luka is, his absurd usage rate and role had little to no chance to lead to a championship. And this season, it seemed to be taking a toll on him physically. He's played through a lot, but the injury list for 2022-23 is getting fairly robust.

With Irving on the team, Dončić will not only be spelled some of the heavy lifting, but he should also see slightly less intense defensive pressure when he's still on the ball. It's a lot tougher to throw double-teams or other gimmicky defenses like a box-and-one at a star when there's another one on the floor with him.

In certain matchups, or if Kyrie gets on a heater, Luka might even be spared the opposition's best perimeter defender for stretches. And if he's willing to move and work off the ball, which was never a given when he played with Jalen Brunson or Dinwiddie, Dončić might even have another level to hit on offense.

This partnership has the chance to play like a supercharged version of the Dončić-Brunson backcourt that led Dallas to a conference finals last season. And if Markieff Morris has anything left in the tank (he's shooting 40.8 percent from three on very limited attempts), even better.

If both of those come to fruition, the Mavs could get a bit further than they did in 2022, which of course means title contention.

Both Luka and Kyrie have reached some absurd postseason heights, and having them together means Dallas has a decent chance to have the best individual player in any given series. That's often the deciding factor in the playoffs and something that could be especially true in this parity-packed campaign.

But that's the best-case scenario, and there are seemingly limitless other possibilities here.

No one will be able to feign surprise if Kyrie grows weary of the Mavs before this regular season ends. And if he enters free agency this summer, Dallas will be out two helpful players and multiple draft assets for a few months of a headache it wouldn't have otherwise had.

Given the level of risk, a poor mark would be fair, but the potential reward earns Dallas a passing grade.

Grade: C