The Los Angeles Lakers have maintained that they are not interested in signing guard Kyrie Irving this offseason, according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.
Irving is set to become an unrestricted free agent after playing for the Dallas Mavericks and Brooklyn Nets last season.
“The Lakers, meanwhile, maintained on Monday that they aren’t interested in adding Irving this summer, according to multiple team sources who aren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter,” Buha wrote.
For salary cap reasons, the Lakers would likely need to work a sign-and-trade deal to bring in Irving this offseason. It has been reported that there isn’t an overwhelming sentiment from the Lakers that they need to acquire Irving this offseason.
If the team were to attempt to work a sign-and-trade deal, it would likely need to move off of multiple rotation pieces from last season’s team to match salary and entice Dallas to complete a move.
Following his trade from the Nets to the Mavericks during the 2022-23 season, Irving played well, averaging 27.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game across 20 games for Dallas.
He was an All-Star in the 2022-23 season, but Irving has also missed time over the past few seasons for injuries and because of his refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine while playing for Brooklyn.
The Lakers made the Western Conference Finals in the 2022-23 season, and the team didn’t really start playing well until after it revamped the roster at the trade deadline. It seems like the Lakers would rather see how far that roster can go with a full season together rather than make a move for a star like Irving.
The Lakers have other free agents (D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura) that they need to make decisions on as well this offseason.
The links to Irving and the Lakers are strong because of his relationship with LeBron James, who won a title with Irving on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015-16 season. James is under contract with the Lakers in the 2023-24 season and has a player option for the 2024-25 campaign.
It’s possible the future Hall of Famer could sway the Lakers’ plans, but for now it appears that Los Angeles won’t be in the Irving sweepstakes in free agency this coming offseason.
