Kyrie Irving did it again. For the third time in his career, whether via trade demand or not re-signing, Irving has turned his back on yet another NBA franchise. This time, it was demanding a trade away from the Brooklyn Nets out of the blue, just six days before the 2023 NBA trade deadline. Less than 48 hours after the demand, the Nets made a Kyrie Irving trade with the Dallas Mavericks.
The Nets did about as well as they could in the deal, and the Mavericks are taking a major gamble with one of the most frustratingly polarizing players in the league. However, the one that got the most out of the deal was Irving. That’s because not only did he get his way, but because of a Kyrie Irving contract, he also made $2 million in the deal.
When Kyrie Irving left the Boston Celtics — after telling the teams and its fans he would re-sign — he got a four-year, $136,490,600 contract from the Brooklyn Nets.
That was back in 2019, which means the 2022-23 season is the final year of Irving’s deal. This season, the former Duke Blue Devil’s base salary was $36,503,30.
One of the stipulations of this Kyrie Irving contract is that there is a 15% trade kicker in the deal. That means if the team trades the guard, even if he’s the one who requests it, extra money is added to the pact.
That’s exactly what happened when the Mavericks sent Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick, and two second-round picks (2027, 2029) to the Nets in exchange for Irving.
And when the Kyrie Irving trade became official, he added a cool $1,982,507 to his 2022-23 earnings with the trade kicker.
Now it’s up to Mark Cuban and the Mavs as to whether they will give their new guard the Kyrie Irving contract extension he’s looking for.
A contract extension may have been the reason for the Kyrie Irving trade demand
When Irving shocked the NBA world by requesting a trade out of nowhere less than a week before the deadline, initial reports were that it was due to differences with the Nets about a Kyrie Irving contract extension.
The Nets and the player’s agent, Shetellia Riley-Irving (also his stepmother), were discussing an extension when Irving’s shock trade request came through. Multiple reports noted that the Nets were willing to give him a max extension of four years and around $210 million. However, they wanted to put some safeguards in it in case Irving became unreliable, which he has done multiple times in the past.
That notion seemingly offended the guard, leading to the Kyrie Irving trade.
Now, the Mavericks can give him a two-year, $78.6 million extension. However, if the parties wait until the Summer, which reports say they will, Irving could get that four-year extension or even a five-year, $272 million deal.
Whether Irving’s new team will do that remains to be seen. A lot of it likely depends on if Kyrie can stay on his best behavior for the next five months.
