The Brooklyn Nets have traded NBA All-Star guard Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks together with Markieff Morris for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round draft pick for 2029 and two second-round picks in 2027 and 2029, according to ESPN on Sunday.

Both the Nets and the Mavericks acted very quickly to get the deal done in 48 hours since Irving asked the Nets to trade him before the NBA trade deadline ends on Thursday.

The Mavericks made an upgrade in the second-in-command role with the arrival of Irving. As an eight-time All-Star, Irving has averaged 27.1 points in 40 games for the Nets this season. He scored 30+ points in four games and 40+ points in two games in January.

Irving is better than Dinwiddie in isolation, offensive production and clutch-time shooting. He can share a great part of the load on the shoulders of Luka Doncic, as long as Irving focuses on playing basketball.

Irving is in the final year of his current contract and failed to reach an agreement with the Nets over an extension. The Mavericks can sign a four-year, $198.5 million deal or a two-year, $83 million extension with him until June 30.

Adding an elite scorer like Irving to their roster definitely improves the Mavericks, but at the cost of weakening their defense in the forward position. Finney-Smith is their best player for the role and Morris is not even close to filling in his absence. Irving may be underestimated in guarding players in his size. He will be a big defensive vulnerability when he faces full-size forwards like Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Mavericks still have one first-rounder, one second-rounder and several role players they can put in a package to trade and make a change in the starting lineup. However, they are unlikely to get another star player with those assets, not to mention that it will further hurt the team's roster depth.

Trading for Irving has already been a great gesture to Doncic that the Mavericks are doing everything they can to find any possible help for him. As for the headache of negotiating an extension with Irving, they can leave it to be dealt with after this season. Right now, Doncic and Irving need to figure out how to outscore their opponents since their defense ceases to be reliable anymore.

It's not a surprise the Nets made such a quick decision to send Irving away after everything they have been through, both on and off the court. For the same reason, Irving's trade value is not as big as many people think. The Nets were actually overpaid with what the Mavericks gave them.

The Nets prefer switching in defense with their front court players. Finney-Smith is the same good as Royce O'Neale, if not better, in 3-point shooting, defense and moving the ball. Dinwiddie proved his abilities in the Nets during the 2019-20 campaign when their incumbent head coach Jacque Vaughn was an assistant under Kenny Atkinson. Dinwiddie doesn't match Irving in scoring, but he is a better passer.

Nonetheless, Irving's departure indeed turned the Nets from a star-duo team into a single-engine franchise. When Kevin Durant comes back, he may have to shoulder more offensive duties and face more double-teaming on the court. When the game reaches the final possession, everyone knows who will stand out to take the clutch shot for the Nets.

Furthermore, the trade didn't fix the Nets' biggest problem: a lack of a strong big man who can provide a different function than Nic Claxton. As we have mentioned before, the Nets must win "right now" considering the age of Durant (34). Keeping so many future draft picks is not necessarily more valuable than trading them for players who can make immediate contributions.

Besides the picks, the Nets have Seth Curry (good asset), Joe Harris (okay asset), Ben Simmons (toxic but big contract to complete big deal) among other players to bid for what they want. When Durant asked the team to trade him during the last offseason, he was disappointed at the team's failure both on the court and in franchise building. If the Nets don't perform well this season, he may make the same request again this summer.