The Dallas Mavericks played their second game of the post-Luka Doncic era on Tuesday in Philadelphia and fell to 0-2 since Saturday’s shocking blockbuster that brought Anthony Davis and Max Christie to Dallas and sent Doncic, Markieff Morris, and Maxi Kleber to Los Angeles.

Tuesday’s close loss to the Sixers was the first time Kyrie Irving had played, as he sat out against Cleveland, which meant his postgame availability was the first time we heard from him since the league-shaking trade. Irving, like everyone else, said his first reaction was shock and explained that he’s still in the “grieving process”, noting how close he and Doncic had become on and off the court (via Grant Afseth).

“Just really shocked. You just don’t imagine that you’re gonna get ready to go to sleep and find out news like that,” Irving said. “So still the grieving process right now. I miss my hermano. We had a lot of time together — Kieff too, and Maxi. We just built some bonds that went beyond the basketball court. If anybody can understand at home, when someone or a few people leave in a trade it’s gonna be difficult, and that’s what we’re dealing with right now. But this is a business. It’s way above my pay grade. Kinda just gotta adjust and be ready to welcome in my new teammates with open arms and kinda be ready to go back to Dallas to speak in front of our fans. I know they’re feeling it too — I’m feeling it too, guys. It’s just an adjustment period. I don’t wanna downplay this either or disrespect our new guys, they’re gonna help us win and help us build towards a championship. But just like everyone else at home, kinda see it from afar, it hurts.”

The human element of trades is always a difficult thing to fully understand from the outside, but when a trade comes out of truly nowhere like this one, I can only imagine the wild range of emotions players feel. Irving tries to explain that as best he can, and does a good job detailing the delicate balance of the locker room right now. They’re all reeling from seeing their top guy and a beloved teammate get traded, and have to process those emotions while also welcoming in new teammates who are likewise dealing with their own shock and trying to figure out exactly how this all went down.

Irving also didn’t shy away from the fact that Mavs fans aren’t happy with how this went down, and it’ll be interesting to see what the reception is for the team when they arrive back in Dallas. The GM doesn’t come out onto the court, so it’s not like fans will be able to directly boo Nico Harrison, but the players had nothing to do with the trade and are just as shocked as everyone else.