The Luka Doncic trade just got worse for the Dallas Mavericks
After insulting their fans with the Luka Doncic trade in February, the Dallas Mavericks added injury Monday night.
Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving tore the ACL in his left knee Monday and is done for the season, reports ESPN.
Irving was injured during the first quarter of Dallas’s 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings. Reminiscent of when Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles in 2013, Irving stayed in the game to shoot two free throws after sustaining the injury.
Irving, 32, was averaging 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game for the Mavericks this season. He was also carrying a heavy workload, averaging the most minutes in the NBA since mid-January.
Dallas’s fans have been beset with bad luck for the last month.
On Feb. 2, the team traded Doncic — a five-time All-NBA First Team selection who led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals in 2023 — to the Lakers.
Center Anthony Davis, who was acquired by Dallas in the Doncic trade, played in only one game for the team before suffering an adductor strain that has sidelined him since Feb. 8.
And on Monday, before Irving suffered his injury, the team announced an increase in prices for season-ticket holders.
Irving is in his third season with the Mavericks after being acquired via midseason trade in 2023. He is in the second year of a three-year, $120 million deal he signed with Dallas in the summer of 2023. Irving has a player option for next season.
After the loss to the Kings, the Mavericks are 32-30 and in 10th place in the Western Conference.
