The Phoenix Suns contacted the Dallas Mavericks about a sign-and-trade for Kyrie Irving, according to SNY's Ian Begley.
It's unclear why negotiations between the teams fell apart, but Phoenix eventually pivoted to the reported deal for Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal.
Irving would've brought some continuity with Kevin Durant from their time together on the Brooklyn Nets.
The eight-time All-Star also would've preempted one of the concerns created by the Beal trade. None of Beal, Durant or Devin Booker is a natural facilitator.
Nate Jones @JonesOnTheNBABiggest questions for the Suns: Does Ayton stay? Who plays PG? If they get another starting PG, that means Book is playing a ton of 3 and the suns will be small. If they don't, that means Book is going to be asked to be their PG, which creates other problems.
John Gambadoro @Gambo987Beal would give the Suns another dynamic scorer. He can be a primary ballhandler too - he is not true definition of a point guard but he is a very good player and him and Booker can both figure it out.
Irving isn't a prototypical floor general in the Chris Paul mold, but he has at least spent nearly the entirety of his NBA career as a point guard.
The risk in acquiring the 31-year-old far outweighed the potential benefits, though.
The Suns are already drawing some comparisons to Brooklyn in the wake of the Beal deal. Now imagine Phoenix having actually added Irving to the mix months after he was an instigating factor in the implosion of the Nets' superteam.
Jusuf Nurkić 🇧🇦 @bosnianbeast27Brooklyn situation all over again 😂
Durant may not have been all that keen to sign on for the experience a second time around. He hasn't come out and publicly trashed Irving after they went their separate directions, but he has discussed his disappointment with how his run in Brooklyn ended.
Nets Videos @SNYNetsKevin Durant says Kyrie Irving's trade request was "tough to stomach":<br><br>"We were finally building a culture that we always wanted. I didn't know what was going on with Kyrie and his situation with the organization...without him, we didn't have a clear identity." <a href="">
Then there's the practical issue of building an even more top-heavy roster that includes a key player who hasn't logged 70-plus appearances since 2016-17.
Irving has battled a series of injuries in recent seasons. Even when he's healthy, his status might be jeopardized due to off-court issues, such as refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine or promoting an antisemitic film on social media.
Beal might have missed 74 games over the past two years, but there aren't anywhere near the same kind of questions over his availability as with Irving.
After the Nets and Boston Celtics got burned by pinning their championship hopes on Irving, taking the same bet would've been an odd choice for Phoenix.
