The Dallas Mavericks have spent the past couple of years looking for a star to compliment Luka Doncic.
On Sunday, they pulled the trigger on a deal for the player that they believe can fill that void.
The Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029.
Irving is the first All-Star starter to join another team that same season in more than a decade.
Per the Elias Sports Bureau, he’s also the first player in NBA history to average at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists for one team in a season and then get traded mid-season.
While I’m inclined to believe the Nets won the deal, FanDuel shortened Dallas’ odds to win the NBA championship while Brooklyn’s odds lengthened.
This is the Morning Coffee for Monday February 6th, 2023.
The Mavericks Go All-In With Trade For Irving
The Mavericks were +1900 to win the title at FanDuel prior to the trade.
FanDuel moved Dallas to +1400 after the deal was made.
That makes the Mavs the seventh choice to win it all this season, one spot behind the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors and one spot ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers.
So far this season, there have been six different instances where a player other than Doncic has scored 30+ points for the Mavericks.
To put that number in perspective, Irving has scored 30+ points 15 times this season.
Dallas has yet to win a game with Doncic out of the lineup, going a combined 0-7 without him.
With the tandem of Doncic and Irving leading the way along with Christian Wood, the Mavericks are now the fourth choice to win the Western Conference at +550.
Meanwhile, the Nets went from +750 to win the NBA championship before Irving’s trade request to +2200 after the move.
Brooklyn also went from +390 to +1200 to win the Eastern Conference.
With a core that features Kevin Durant, Dinwiddie, Finney-Smith, Nic Claxton, and Seth Curry, the Nets won’t be expected to compete with the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks for a spot in the NBA Finals.
However, Brooklyn did acquire a couple of picks that could be packaged in a trade for another asset, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they made another big splash before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
The Nets could find a potential trade partner in the Toronto Raptors, which have won five of their past eight games to remain in the mix for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference entering a crucial week ahead.
The Raptors host the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday in their final game before the NBA trade deadline.
It will be very interesting to see what their roster looks like on Super Bowl Sunday when they host the Detroit Pistons in their first game on TSN post-deadline.
LeBron Closing In On All-Time NBA Scoring Record
LeBron James needs 36 points to break the NBA’s all-time scoring record.
He’ll get his next opportunity to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when the Lakers host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
LeBron has averaged exactly 30.0 points per game this season.
If he hits his average point total against the Thunder, then there is a very good chance he will break the record against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.
Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if LeBron decides that he’s going to make history at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night.
When FanDuel posted the odds for when LeBron would break the all-time scoring record over the weekend, they had the Thunder game at +250 and the Bucks game at -190.
You can add my name to the list of people that will be following along on the box score and tuning in to the second half on Tuesday night to see if LeBron can cash some tickets for anyone who bet the OKC game at +250.
Horvat Signs Long Term With Islanders
While there will be plenty of talk about the NBA trade deadline this week, we are also now less than one month away from the NHL trade deadline.
The New York Islanders got ahead of the curve with their trade for Bo Horvat last week.
The Islanders locked up Horvat with a long-term deal on Sunday.
He’ll make his debut tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers.
While the Islanders added a top-six centre, they’re still +5500 to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel right now.
18 NHL teams have shorter odds to win it all.
With names like Patrick Kane, Ryan O’Reilly, Timo Meier and more involved in persistent trade rumours, it will be very interesting to see how things play out around the league over the next month.