Kyrie Irving Says He Has 'No Regrets' from Nets Tenure After Trade to Mavericks

Despite a tumultuous run with the Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving has a positive outlook regarding that time of his career.

According to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Irving said Saturday that he has "no regrets" about his Nets tenure. Kyrie added that he "had a plan in place where I could have stayed in Brooklyn long term" but is at peace with the path that led him to Dallas.

Prior to last week's NBA trade deadline, the Nets shipped Irving and Markieff Morris to the Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029.

After tenures with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, Irving signed with the Nets in 2019 on the same day that Brooklyn signed Kevin Durant.

The Nets then acquired James Harden in a trade with the Houston Rockets the following season, and the expectation was that the trio would lead the franchise to one or more championships.

Instead they spend minimal time on the floor together. Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers prior to the deadline last season, while Irving was traded to the Mavs and KD was traded to the Phoenix Suns this season.

In Kyrie's three full seasons with the Nets, they reached the playoffs each time, but they never made it past the second round.

When healthy and on the court, Irving was highly productive in Brooklyn, averaging 27.1 points, 5.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 3.1 three-pointers made and 1.3 steals, and earning two All-Star selections, but he was limited to 143 regular-season games across parts of four seasons.

Irving missed a large portion of the 2021-22 season because of his refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, which rendered him unable to play home games because of protocols in New York City.

Kyrie also missed eight games this season when the Nets suspended him for sharing an antisemitic movie on social media and subsequently failing to disavow its message when given the chance.

Few could have expected that the Nets would be such a non-factor during the Kyrie and KD era, but things simply didn't work out the way everyone involved hoped.

When Irving and the Nets couldn't come to an agreement on a contract extension, Kyrie reportedly requested a trade, and now he finds himself in the thick of playoff contention in the Western Conference.

Desperate to find a star to play alongside MVP candidate Luka Dončić, the Mavs dealt for Irving and could be a dangerous team down the stretch.

The Mavs have yet to fully hit their stride and are just 31-29, but that is good enough for sixth place in the Western Conference, and if Irving and Dončić mesh, they likely aren't an opponent any team will want to see in the playoffs.