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Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving wanted to be in North Texas in the 2022-23 season when he asked the Brooklyn Nets for a trade. He got his wish, forming a lethal partnership with Luka Doncic, helping take the team to the 2024 NBA finals.
But, his journey with Luka was cut short earlier this month when the Mavs shockingly traded Luka to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for big man Anthony Davis. Kyrie said postgame on Monday that he's been texting back and forth with Doncic, who he built a strong relationship with both on and off the court.
Via Joey Mistretta:
Kyrie Irving said he has texted with Luka Doncic since the trade occurred.#MFFL pic.twitter.com/7r2fzMt8fh
— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) February 11, 2025
After the blockbuster deal went down, Irving voiced that it's a “grieving process” after losing running mate and revealed he was absolutely floored by the news:
“Just really shocked,” Irving said. “You just don't imagine you're going to get ready to go to sleep and then you find out news like that.
“It's still a grieving process right now. I miss my hermano.”
Unfortunately, the trade hasn't exactly made Dallas look like a winner so far. Anthony Davis suffered an injury in his debut and could miss up to a month. As for Doncic, he made his Lakers debut on Monday evening, scoring 14 points in a huge win over the Utah Jazz.
Nico Harrison has faced serious criticism for dealing away the franchise star who just led the league in scoring and took the Mavericks to the Finals. It's still hard to understand why they would part ways with Luka, regardless of the reported conditioning concerns.
With AD sidelined, it'll be up to Kyrie to carry the offensive load. Dallas is outside of the playoff picture at the moment with a 28-26 record, but they're still in eighth place. Irving erupted for 30 points in an OT loss to the Kings on Monday.
Dallas visits the Lakers on February 25. I'm sure Kyrie and Luka will share a special moment before tip-off.
