One of the best players in the NBA was traded this week and fans don’t seem to think it will make much of a difference at all.
Fans already calling the Kyrie deal a mistake for the Mavericks
Despite the blockbuster trade, NBA fans seem to be over the idea of Kyrie Irving as a true difference maker in the league.
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
In less than a week Kyrie Irving demanded a trade and quickly found himself leaving Brooklyn and headed for the Dallas Mavericks. The trade made the Mavericks backcourt, along with Luka Dončić, arguably the best in the NBA. Already fighting for playoff position near the top of the Western Conference, on paper the addition of Irving makes Dallas an absolute force.
But, well, fans don’t really seem to trust Irving to do much. In fact, most think it’s a mistake.
According to the latest SB Nation Reacts survey, more than three-fourths of NBA fans think the Mavericks will regret acquiring Irving.
That number is almost baffling. The Mavericks gave up Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and three picks that won’t come into play until 2027 at the earliest. That is to say, they didn’t give up much at all.
And if things go wrong, they are only on the hook to keep Irving through this year. So he’s free to decide if he wants to be in Dallas or anywhere else this offseason.
So for fans to believe this is a mistake means they expect things to turn into a dumpster fire in Dallas. It’s not out of the question to believe that, Irving has a track record of testing the strength of every locker room he’s been in. But to do all that in just a few months would be “impressive” even by Kyrie’s standards.
Along those same lines, a majority of fans think the Nets “won” the trade, with just about a quarter of fans thinking it was the Mavericks who came out on top.
To complete the lack of faith showing, only 16 percent of fans think this makes the Mavericks the favorite in the Western Conference.
Hilariously, however, that doesn’t mean fans think Dallas “lost” the trade. That honor goes to the Lakers, who appear to have caught a stray simply by not being able to get Irving to his desired location.
Be on the lookout for another survey next week with a chance to answer the game’s biggest questions.
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