Kyrie Irving Reflects on 'Emotional' Luka Doncic, Lakers Trade: 'I Struggled A Little'

Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving reflected on the fallout from the shocking trade that sent his former running mate Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

During a recent live stream on Twitch, Irving addressed the backlash general manager Nico Harrison faced from Mavs fans and admitted that the situation weighed on him for quite some time.

"But bringing that s--t to life—and some of the things that were going on in Dallas, like the casket, the 'Fire Nico' chants, and these unfortunate situations where you’re attacking someone who’s just performing a function of the business—that was emotional," Irving said at the 2:17:40 mark (h/t HoopsHype). "It was emotional for a lot of people, and it was emotional for me too. I ain’t gonna lie to you—I struggled a little bit the first few days."

Irving was sent to the Mavs at the 2023 trade deadline, beginning a partnership with Doncic that proved fruitful. In their first full season together in 2023-24, they helped lead Dallas to a 50-32 record and a surprising run to the 2024 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in five games.

Many expected the Mavs to contend for a spot in the Finals once again this season, but Harrison was convinced to trade Doncic to the Lakers in a deal that acquired star big man Anthony Davis, and things quickly went downhill after that. Davis hasn't played since suffering an adductor strain in his team debut, and Irving later suffered a season-ending torn ACL.

Still, Irving has accepted the reality of the situation and said he doesn't pay too much attention to the outside criticisms.

"But after a while—yo—you get to where you are by making some incredible moves," he added. "And mind you, everybody’s going to have their opinion about what we should’ve done or what we should’ve did. But we can only deal with what we’re doing now."