Kyrie Irving Offers Emotional Reaction To Luka Doncic-Lakers Trade

Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic failed to reach the pinnacle of their nearly three-year-long run as teammates with the Dallas Mavericks during last year’s NBA Finals.

Irving and Doncic lasted five games with the Boston Celtics before their season ended with a trot of disappointment as green and white confetti poured from TD Garden’s rafters and cued the start of a celebration in Beantown. That experience was heartbreaking itself, but when Irving nearly went to sleep, the news that Doncic had become the newest member of the Los Angeles Lakers sparked a new outpour of emotions.

“Just really shocked and just don’t imagine that you’re gonna get ready to go to sleep and you find out news like that,” Irving told reporters Tuesday, per Mavericks reporter Grant Afseth. “So, it’s still a grieving process right now. That’s my hermano. We had a lot of time together, (Markieff Morris) too and Maxi (Kleber), and we just built some bonds that were beyond the basketball court.”

Irving added: “This is a business. It’s way above my pay grade. I just gotta adjust and be able to welcome in my new teammates with open arms and be ready to go back to Dallas, too, and speak to our fans. I know they’re feeling it, too; I’m feeling it, too, guys. So it’s just an adjustment period, and I don’t wanna downplay it or disrespect our new guys.”

Dallas is set to welcome in 10-time All-Star center Anthony Davis and guard Max Christie and stash away a 2029 first-round selection from the Lakers. It’s a solid return but still a far stretch from the presumed King’s ransom that trading Doncic, a 25-year-old, five-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA First-Team selection should reel in.

Instead, the Mavericks have left their fans in shambles.

Doncic was a generational talent who appeared on track for the Dirk Nowitzki career course, a lifetime Dallas legend with records through the rooftop, a championship or two and a statute outside American Airlines Center.

Dallas got it right in the 2018 NBA draft when the organization moved up two spots to select Doncic third overall and acquired his draft rights from the Atlanta Hawks. Doncic left the Mavericks 300 points shy of surpassing Michael Finley — the franchise’s assistant general manager — for the fifth-most points all-time.

The pressure is now on the Mavericks, more specifically on president of basketball operations Nico Harrison, to get Dallas over the hump immediately. Irving and Davis aren’t getting any younger and giving up on Doncic, a potential future Hall of Famer, hasn’t boded well with the fanbase or those outside Dallas.

If sending Doncic off to Los Angeles backfires, it’ll be a fireable offense that should prevent Harrison from ever working another front-office job in the NBA.