When Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets last week, the immediate assumption was that we’ll see a reunion between LeBron James and Kyrie. LeBron seemingly welcomed the idea (while trying to avoid tampering), and the Nets had decided to sit Irving until a trade was made. The wheels were in motion.

It didn’t take long to pair Irving with one of the NBA’s best players either — it just wasn’t LeBron.

According to The Athletic, the Nets agreed to trade Irving on Sunday to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick and second-round picks. The trade meant that Irving will be playing in the same backcourt as Luka Doncic — a major boost to Dallas’ hopes in the West.

BREAKING: The Brooklyn Nets are trading Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round and multiple second-round picks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2023

It also meant that the Lakers’ efforts to trade for Kyrie were unsuccessful. And they actually tried, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Nets-Mavericks talks accelerated on a trade today, sources said. The Lakers and Nets had several conversations on a potential deal, but Nets preferred Mavs' package — getting back a point guard and wing to plug in now plus the future picks.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2023

That’s not going to make the trade sit any better with Lakers fans, but other NBA fans were already turning the Mavs trade into a Lakers roast.