The Mavs bet on drama

The Nets bet on defense

BY DAVID THORPE

Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić are two of the best offensive players in the NBA, but will their partnership be enough to take the Mavs to the next level? JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES

At the TrueHoop Monday morning editorial meeting, the topic became: Is there any chance the Nets front office traded Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, and picks without first getting Kevin Durant’s buy-in? So far, we don’t know the order of events, but it seems unlikely the Nets would make the move and then check in with their recently-demanded-a-trade superstar. 

In any case, David is convinced that Durant’s level of commitment is paramount—and that you’ll be able to assess that commitment by his passion-level on defense once he’s back on the court. 

For the Nets

We don’t really know what Durant is thinking. That’s an enormous variable. If he can’t wait to get to work, that changes everything. 

The most likely scenario is that the Nets presented KD with the pac…