Kyrie Irving

Dallas Mavericks Welcome Kyrie Irving After Trade is Made Official

The Mavs welcomed their new All-Star guard on social media

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Kyrie Irving officially is a member of the Mavericks.

The trade that sent the All-Star guard from the Brooklyn Nets to Dallas was finalized by the NBA on Monday, with the Mavs welcoming Irving on social media.

The Mavericks, who also acquired Markieff Morris in the trade, sent Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and draft picks to the Nets in exchange for Irving, who is averaging 27.1 points per game this season.

The deal reportedly was temporarily held up on Monday as the Nets unsuccessfully attempted to find a third team to include in the trade.

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Irving will wear No. 2 on the Mavericks, according to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT. The former No. 1 overall pick wore No. 2 during the first six seasons of his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers before switching to No. 11 with the Boston Celtics and Nets.

Irving's first opportunity to debut with the Mavericks is Wednesday when they play the Clippers in Los Angeles. His first home game is scheduled to be on Feb. 13 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The 30-year-old Irving, making $36.9 million in the final year of his deal, was unable to reach an extension with the Nets and demanded a trade on Friday. A trade agreement with the Mavericks was reached 48 hours later, sending NBA twitter into a frenzy. That included a cryptic tweet from LeBron James, whose Lakers had also reportedly made an offer for Irving in a three-team trade that included the Phoenix Suns and Chris Paul.

Irving spent three-plus tumultuous seasons in Brooklyn. He played in just 143 regular-season games, including just 74 alongside Kevin Durant, while missing time due to injury, a refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine amid New York City's vaccination mandate and a suspension earlier this season after posting a link on social media to an antisemitic film.

Irving thanked Nets fans in a tweet early Monday.

"Thank you NetsWorld fans and supporters for the Love on and off the court. I will forever be grateful I got to live out my dream I had as a Kid with y’all. It will always be Love from me and my family," the tweet read.

He also tweeted at the Mavericks.

Dinwiddie, who spent two seasons in Dallas, returns to a Nets team that he played for from 2016 to 2021.

"To the #mffl like I’ve always said y’all and BKN have made my NBA experience. Nothing but immaculate vibes as @tpinsonn would say," Dinwiddie tweeted Monday.

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