After requesting a trade away from the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, Kyrie Irving has quickly found himself a new home after joining the Dallas Mavericks.
It was announced on Sunday that Irving will join the Mavericks after they secured a trade agreement with the Nets. For Irving, the Nets will receive Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick and multiple second-round picks.
Irving sat out of the Nets' last game as he awaited a trade, and according to ESPN the NBA star will travel to Dallas to have a physical exam on Monday. He is expected to make his Mavericks debut on Wednesday February 10th, when they face the Los Angeles Clippers.
A league source told Bleacher Report that Irving is already "ecstatic" about the trade to the Mavericks and is "looking forward" to playing alongside Luka Doncic. Irving has already played alongside some of the greats, and will now be able to add up-and-coming star Doncic to the list.
Things seemed to be finally settling down within the Nets organisation after a hectic few years, but now Irving will leave the franchise and look for a fresh start. The Nets are 32-20 this season, and recently Irving has been handed an even bigger role as Kevin Durant has been out injured.
It was Durant that requested to trade away from the Nets before the season even began, but while his attempt was knocked back, Irving's has been granted months later. James Harden became the first Nets star to flee the organisation last year during a rough period, and now Irving has followed, leaving Durant behind.
It's not been an easy ride for the Nets, a side with a roster capable of making a serious challenge. Although a lot of the issues have stemmed from the Irving camp over the past few years.
Many suspensions for an array of different controversies have seen Irving miss extensive game time, although it looked like things had turned a corner. The sudden trade request ends their relationship, and now Irving will switch East for West.
Former Nets team-mate Nic Claxton only recently spoke about the "toxic environment" within the locker room from previous years, stating that it was no longer the case this season. "Last year, it was kind of a toxic environment," Claxton said.
"We didn't know if everybody wanted to be here at the time. This year, there's no divide between everybody that's out there." At the time of his comment both Durant and Irving were out, but even back then there was optimism they'd work it out without them.
"We're going to figure it out. We just got to figure out how to play with each other. Without having KD/Kyrie on the court, it's different line-ups, but we'll figure it out."
