The Los Angeles Lakers appeared to be the frontrunners to acquire Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets ahead of this year’s NBA Trade Deadline.
Instead of sending their disgruntled star to L.A., his preferred destination, Brooklyn opted to dispatch him to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Nets’ official story was that the Mavs brought a better deal to the table than Rob Pelinka, but the reality is that they simply wanted to stick it to the Lakers and Irving by giving neither party their desired outcome.
Nevertheless, Irving is a free agent come this summer, and many are wondering if a reunion with LeBron James may be in the cards for him.
Last week, Tim Cato of The Athletic offered some clarity on the situation.
“No matter how close Irving might be to James, the Lakers are disinterested in pursuing him in free agency, say league sources,” Cato wrote.
“To acquire him would require jettisoning several deadline acquisitions who have helped revitalize their season and land them in a second-round series against the Golden State Warriors.”
This week, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd offered his blunt thoughts on Irving’s future in Dallas.
The comments were quite telling.
“I think he truly is happy here,” Kidd said in an interview with Rachel Nichols.
“I think he wants to be here. But that doesn’t guarantee us that he’s going to stay. He has the option and the opportunity as a professional to look elsewhere, because he is a free agent, and I don’t want to take that away from him, being a player who was in that situation.
“We’re going to do everything to keep him. At the end of the day it’s his decision, but we believe we’ll see what that is, but we hope that we’ve done everything to make him comfortable, and want to be a Mav for life.”
Irving has offered hints on where he would like to play out his 2023-24 NBA campaign, but obviously it is not entirely up to him. The money needs to be right, as does the term of the contract, in order for him to ultimately sign on the bottom line. And that part is up to whoever is presenting him with a deal.
Sydney Sweeney stole the show at UFC 288. https://t.co/rwVnUcERc0
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 7, 2023
One way or another, despite all his woes, Irving will be playing somewhere in the NBA come next season.
Unfortunately for Irving, though – it won’t be on the Lakers.
Related: Baker Mayfield’s Wife Emily Shares Wild Boat Party Photos
Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
