Analyst urges Houston to consider Kyrie Irving trade

Following the game on Saturday afternoon, SiriusXM NBA Radio analyst Sam Mitchell said he believes the Rockets should push the trade for Irving. Mitchell started by saying Irving has exceeded expectations in Dallas, especially given the doubts about how he would look after his injury.

“Kyrie is making everybody on that team better. Everybody thought this was going to be a down year for Dallas with a young coach straight from college, with all these young players transitioning to building this team around Cooper. Nobody knew what Kyrie was going to look like. Man, Kyrie looked better than he did before he got hurt.”

He then addressed Irving’s trade value, arguing a team could land him without giving up a huge haul.

“You might be able to get two first-round picks for Kyrie [unclear: “down”], and that’s a lot for a 34-year-old injured point guard who missed all of last year with an injury.”

Mitchell then named the Rockets as the team that should make the move, saying Houston’s competition in the West makes the timing ideal.

“I’ll tell you right now: the Houston Rockets. You put him on the Houston Rockets, you put him on the Houston Rockets with the injuries in the rest of the West, it might be over. They are clearly the best team with Kyrie out there.”

If the Rockets were to trade for Irving, it would be a reunion for Kevin Durant, who played with Irving in Brooklyn before the championship-winning point guard was sent to the Dallas Mavericks. Durant was traded to the Phoenix Suns at the 2023 trade deadline.