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SALT LAKE CITY — Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd brushed aside questions about newly acquired guard Kyrie Irving’s past controversies and future contract negotiations, preferring to focus on his belief that pairing Irving with fellow All-Star starter Luka Doncic cracks open a championship window for the franchise.
The Mavs pounced on the opportunity to acquire a legitimate co-star for Doncic, agreeing to a blockbuster deal for Irving and veteran forward Markieff Morris on Sunday, two days after Irving requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets in the wake of fizzled contract extension discussions. Dallas sent starters Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and two second-round picks to Brooklyn to land Irving with no assurances that he will remain with the Mavs after his contract expires at the end of the season.
“You look at his journey at other stops, he’s won where he’s gone,” Kidd said before Monday night’s 124-111 road win against the Utah Jazz, just after the trade was made official. “We feel that the talent and his abilities to make us better are something that we needed. We feel that getting him is going to help put us in a position to win a championship.”
Irving, 30, is expected to join the Mavs for practice Tuesday in Los Angeles and play the next night against the LA Clippers. He’s an eight-time All-Star who has earned a reputation as one of the league’s most brilliant offensive creators during his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Nets, averaging 23.3 points and 5.7 assists per game in 12 NBA seasons.
Irving won a title with the Cavaliers in 2015-16, hitting the game-winning shot in the final minute of Game 7 in the NBA Finals, but controversy has swirled around him with each of his previous teams. He requested to be traded from Cleveland in 2017, following three consecutive Finals…
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