Update: After being unable to expand this deal to a third team, the Dallas Mavericks and Brooklyn Nets announced the Kyrie Irving trade Monday evening. Said deal is as originally constructed.
The Dallas Mavericks’ blockbuster trade for star point guard Kyrie Irving is slated to be made official at some point on Monday.
However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that it is not yet done. The NBA insider goes on to note that the Mavericks and Brooklyn Nets are looking to get a third team involved. Said report includes a tidbit about the Toronto Raptors potentially being involved.
Irving is heading from Brooklyn to Dallas with Markieff Morris in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick and two second-round selections. If Toronto or another team were to get involved, it would change the dynamics big time.
Kyrie Irving would obviously still head to Dallas. The larger question is who Brooklyn would acquire in a hypothetical three-team trade. Reports following Sunday’s blockbuster becoming public record indicated that general manager Sean Marks is still looking to make a splash in order to keep the Nets in championship contention and appease star Kevin Durant.
Up north, the Raptors have been among the most bandied about sellers ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet has been a major subject of rumors in this regard. Perhaps, the Nets look to acquire him from Toronto in an expanded trade with Dinwiddie and other assets heading to the Raptors.
Related: Winners and losers from Kyrie Irving blockbuster trade
NBA insider Marc Stein broached that topic after Wojnarowski’s report broke. The idea would be to send Dinwiddie and draft picks to the Raptors. In return, Brooklyn adds an All-Star caliber point guard while being able to retain three-and-D wing Dorian Finney-Smith from the original Kyrie Irving tade with Dallas.
Either way, this is a developing story. Something will be made official later on Monday. The only question is whether this will be an expanded blockbuster or simply just include the Nets and Mavericks.