Ever since LeBron James made a cryptic comment that was interpreted as him considering retirement, many have felt he has been desiring to reunite with Kyrie Irving. The two, of course, won an NBA championship together on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
On Monday, a report surfaced that Irving is supposedly recruiting James to join him on the Dallas Mavericks, leading some to think he actually wants to move to James’ Los Angeles Lakers. But according to Marc Stein, Irving wants to stay in Dallas.
“Yet two sources close to the process insisted Monday that Irving has consistently expressed a desire to remain a Maverick and actually wants to shut down the notion that he’s angling to get to L.A.,” wrote Stein.
After a catastrophic 2021-22 season in which they missed the play-in tournament, the Lakers looked to be heading toward the same fate during the first half of this season. But then came multiple trades in January and February that changed the complexion of their supporting cast around James and Anthony Davis.
Thanks to the arrivals of Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt, Los Angeles got hot after the All-Star break and started to look like a contender. But their run ended in the Western Conference Finals with a four-game sweep at the hands of the Denver Nuggets.
Hachimura and Russell will be free agents this summer, as will rising stud Austin Reaves, and the Lakers will have to do some gymnastics in order to improve their roster once again and take the next step.
Executing a sign-and-trade for Irving may not represent taking that next step, as it would strip the team of depth and result in a top-heavy roster, much like the one they had last season around James, Davis and Russell Westbrook.
Before Westbrook was traded for Russell, Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley in February, James expressed his frustration at not playing on a championship-caliber team at this late stage of his career.
