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The Dallas Mavericks pushed their chips all in for this season, trading with the Brooklyn Nets to acquire guard Kyrie Irving. In return, the Nets get Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and draft picks.
With this new addition, the Mavericks announce themselves as a contender for the title, and the oddsmakers appear to be in agreement.
Before Dallas traded for Kyrie Irving, they were listed at +2700 odds to win the NBA Finals. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, those odds went to +1200, and were as low as +750 minutes after the trade was completed. The Nets are sitting at +2400.
At first sight, one can understand why people, and the odds, would be excited about the Mavericks after this trade. There was speculation on what Dallas would do to get some help for Luka Doncic. Bringing Irving to the squad definitely gives Doncic a bonafide scoring threat to compliment his abilities.
The question is what happens with the rest of the team this season and going forward. Let's remember the Mavericks made it to the Western Conference Finals last season, and they traded with the Houston Rockets to acquire big man Christian Wood to help take some of the load off Doncic. This season has not gone according to plan, with Dallas hovering around .500. The underwhelming campaign resulted in a desperate team trying to salvage something, and now, Irving is a Maverick.
Another question is how will a Doncic-Irving duo look. Yes, there will be a lot of scoring, but it's not like Irving has been the best teammate in recent years, and the defense will probably lack, to say the least.
Apparently, the oddsmakers like the move, but overall, it's hard to see why.
