Vince Carter No Fan of Mavs' Kyrie Irving Trade, But ‘It Can Work’

Former NBA star Vince Carter shared his thoughts on the Dallas Mavericks. including disapproval for what the team gave up to trade for Kyrie Irving.

After trading for Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets, the Dallas Mavericks held high expectations for what they could accomplish. The move formulated the only pair of teammates that consisted of NBA All-Star starters but proved unable to qualify for the play-in tournament. 

The Mavs parted with Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, a 2029 first-round pick, and multiple second-round picks to pull off the trade. Given the thin nature of the team's depth, it proved to be too challenging to overcome losing critical contributors in the supporting around Luka Doncic after adding Irving.

Former NBA star Vince Carter was in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the Celebrity Classic at the Las Colinas Country Club. While doing so, he did an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, providing his thoughts on the Mavs, including the trade to acquire Irving.

"I didn’t like it," Carter said, "and it has nothing to do with Kyrie. I didn’t like how much they had to give up to get him."

Carter has confidence in Doncic and Irving's ability to thrive playing alongside each other. However, he sees the Mavs as a team that must quickly address roster construction flaws. 

"I do think (Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic) can work, the two of them together. But I feel the issue is the roster; that’s the problem," Carter said.

In terms of balancing the two skill sets with one another, Carter described a very similar arrangement as being ideal to what transpired during the season. Doncic, the NBA's top first-quarter scorer, should lead the offense initially, followed by Irving taking control of the second unit after substations are made. Having a feel for the game in the fourth quarter is what must be developed. 

"If Kyrie is willing to allow Luka to do that to get him started, now Kyrie can be that with the second unit and be a more ball-dominant guy and rotate it that way," Carter said. "Then, in the fourth quarter, you just have to figure it out.”

Another point that Carter raised was regarding the motivation of the players to shift to more selfish-oriented goals after things don't initially work out as desired. However, he didn't bring up the more influential elements on an organizational level, such as the desire to begin tanking. 

"If you put a better roster around those guys then you can see if it’s a roster that is willing to do whatever, and buy in," Carter said. "If you start out, and you’re not very good, after a while it’s, 'I’m going to get mine. I’m going to get my numbers.' To hit (contract) incentives …

"That’s the issue you fall into when you’re not winning."

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