The Nets deserve criticism, not empathy, for the Irving episode. In the end. Dallas got what New York didn’t—an opportunity to play for the NBA crown.
Remember when we laughed at the Dallas Mavericks for taking a chance on Kyrie Irving by acquiring him at the trade deadline last year after letting Jalen Brunson go to the Knicks in free agency?
Who’s laughing now? Certainly not the Nets or the five Nets fans that live here or Irving and the Mavericks. Irving is one of the big reasons why the Mavs won the NBA West and have a chance to cop an NBA championship.
While it’s hard to believe, the Mavs made it out much better with Irving at the point than Brunson. He may be the best shooter ever because he makes hard shots look that easy, which is his specialty. For all of Luka’s greatness, Irving elevates the Mavericks with his defense (e.g., 20 steals in the postseason, fourth in the NBA) and clutch shooting, especially when he’s double-teamed.
The Nets can only wonder what could have been if Irving had stayed. He was traded to the Mavericks because they grew tired of his act, which became circus-like in the atmosphere, and paved the way for Kevin Durant to be traded because he wanted no part of playing the Nets without his point guard.
Another contributing factor was having Kenny Atkinson coach Durant and Irving. Irving tuned out Atkinson and never took him seriously. They also disagreed on how to run an offense. Atkinson wanted to run a structured offense, while Irving preferred to freelance and be an iso-shooter. So, it wasn’t surprising that the mercurial point guard complained to Nets general manager Sean Marks about the head coach, and with Durant’s input, Atkinson was fired.
Sadly, there’s even more to this story. Because Mayor Eric Adams prohibited professional athletes from playing without COVID-19 vaccination in the City, Irving wasn’t permitted to play in home games. The Nets could have fought to have Irving play, but they didn’t, and that decision contributed to a breakdown in the player-management relationship. Yes, the Nets eventually permitted Irving to play road games, but it’s extremely difficult to sustain game plans and court rhythm when one of your stars is available for half of the games. Then came Irving’s retweet of an antisemitic film and a five-game suspension that followed.
That’s a load of stuff that happened while Irving was a Net. So, why isn’t there a record of issues with Irving as a Mav? One reason, I think, is culture. Dallas, a good organization, is run professionally and knows how to win. In contrast, Nets GM Sean Marks knows very little about running a pro team, including building one into a consistent winner. The mystery to me here is why owner Joe Tsai still believes in him.
All of what I’ve written is why the Nets deserve criticism, not empathy, for the Irving episode. In the end, it was a monumental gaffe, too. Dallas got what New York didn’t—an opportunity to play for the NBA crown.
