SACRAMENTO – Kyrie Irving wasn’t the first superstar-level player that the Mavericks have pursued. He probably won’t be the last.
But his was the circumstance that came together quickly over a 48-hour period last weekend and resulted in the acquisition of an elite sidekick to Luka Dončić.
General Manager Nico Harrison on Friday detailed the sequence of events that led to the Mavericks trading for Irving from the Brooklyn Nets.
It was a quick transaction, relatively speaking, when the Mavericks figured out that the opportunity was there. And being opportunistic has been governor Mark Cuban’s calling card for years.
“Listen, everybody knows that we’ve been talking about another star in here to go along with Luka,” Harrison said. “You name that star, we’ve looked at it, we’ve figured out how we could bring him in. Not just exclusive to Kyrie, but all the top players in the NBA.
“We had to figure out if it was real or not. Once we found out that it was real and actionable, then we just started kind of going into working what it would take to get him. It was a fast-paced 48 hours.”
By Monday the deal was official and the Mavericks had one of the most feared backcourt combinations in the NBA – if not the most feared.
“I think we can go up against any team,” Harrison said. “We match up against any team. A lot of teams try to blitz Luka, take the ball out of his hands. Well, you can do that if you want, but we’ve got another guy that’s pretty good, so I just think it gives us so many options.”
Irving’s arrival obviously put a smile on Dončić’s face. And Harrison had the luxury of being able to run the move by his superstar point guard before pulling the trigger.
It’s something that makes sense to Harrison.
“One of the things Luka obviously wants – he wants to compete for a championship, so he wants us to bring in enough talent to do that, so he definitely wants us to bring in players that he feels like could help him,” he said. “But it wasn’t specific to Kyrie, specifically. It was just bringing talent, and then when we had a chance to bring Kyrie, obviously, ‘Hey, we have a chance to do this, are you good with it?’ And he’s like, ‘Let’s do it.’
“We’ve had so many conversations about players. I know his likes and so I wasn’t really worried about it, but I do want to make sure he’s in the know of what we’re trying to do.”
Harrison’s work, by the way, may not be done as far as molding this roster.
The NBA’s buyout market is about to heat up and there are going to be a lot of familiar players who will become instant free agents when they get bought out by their current team.
“We’re going to look at it closely,” Harrison said. “If there’s something we think can help strengthen our bench, then we’ll definitely do it, for sure.
“I think we have most of the things covered. If there’s some wing depth out there that makes sense, maybe some defense, then we’ll look at that.”
One step at a time, though.
No. 1 on the priority list as the Thursday’s trade deadline approached was getting Luka superstar help.
Harrison can cross that off the list. Yes, the future with Irving has yet to be written. There are contracts and other aspects of the business side that will have to be taken care of.
But the job now is simply to find a comfortable place for Irving and Luka.
“Kyrie said it several times,” Harrison said. “He wants to be in a place where he feels respected, feels like he can be himself. Our job, my job, is to take away all the distractions so that he can just focus on basketball in a place that he feels love. My job is kind of easy.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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