During his first postgame press conference with the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night, Kyrie Irving had an interesting reaction to former teammate Kevin Durant getting traded to the Phoenix Suns.
After requesting a trade out of Brooklyn late last week, Irving was moved to the Mavericks on Sunday. The eight-time All-Star scored a team-high 24 points and added five assists and four rebounds in his Dallas debut to lead the squad to an important road win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
It was reported two weeks ago that Irving was seeking a contract extension with the Nets. Last summer, the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a new deal before he chose to opt into the last year of his current contract and stay with the organization.
Durant, meanwhile, initially requested a trade from Brooklyn in late June 2022, and his “wish list” reportedly included the Suns. In August, however, the Nets and the 2013-14 MVP agreed to “move forward” with their partnership.
Irving missed time this season due to his suspension following his antisemitism scandal, while Durant is still on the mend from a knee injury but could return to action this month.
Brooklyn is fifth in the Eastern Conference standings at 32-22, but now seems to be well behind the top four of the Boston Celtics (39-16), Milwaukee Bucks (37-17), Philadelphia 76ers (34-19) and Cleveland Cavaliers (35-22) in terms of talent, as Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline approaches.
The Mavericks and Suns are tied for the fourth seed in the West at 30-26 and their first meeting featuring a possible Durant-Irving head-to-head will come at 1 p.m. ET on March 5.
