Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James reportedly reached out to Kyrie Irving ahead of free agency in 2019 to mend fences.
“A couple of years ago when Kyrie was headed to free agency, LeBron James was interested in trying to recruit him to the Los Angeles Lakers,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said. “And he reached and attempted to mend fences. It lasted for a short time. When Kyrie didn’t choose the Lakers, their relationship went away again.”
Irving decided to sign with the Brooklyn Nets during the 2019 offseason and play with superstar Kevin Durant. Irving and Durant have had some success together, but they have yet to make an Eastern Conference Finals with Brooklyn.
As for James, he and the Lakers went on to win the NBA title in the 2019-20 season in the Orlando, Fla. bubble.
Since then, things haven’t been as great for the Lakers, as the team missed the playoffs in the 2021-22 season and fired head coach Frank Vogel after the campaign.
James and Irving have a long history together, as the two players won an NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2016.
However, Irving decided that he no longer wanted to play with James and requested a trade while James was still in Cleveland.
Even though it appears that James would love to play with Irving again, the Nets star didn’t reciprocate that feeling back in 2019.
Irving, who has a player option with the Nets for the 2022-23 season, could decline his option and become an unrestricted free agent. While the Lakers would need to move off of Russell Westbrook’s contract to make another run at Irving, it will be interesting to see if James pushes for it again given their history together.
