Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving raised some eyebrows on Monday when multiple reports indicated that he had reached out to LeBron James to gauge his interest in a reunion on the Mavericks.
The two played together in Cleveland from 2014-17, winning an NBA title in the process, so the pair joining forces again would make some sense. What makes less sense is the fact that Irving — a pending unrestricted free agent — seems to want that reunion to take place in Dallas rather than Los Angeles.
It seems highly unlikely that the Lakers would send James to Dallas (and perhaps even less likely that he would want to join a team that missed the postseason this year). But could the reverse happen?
Based on a recent report from The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, that doesn’t seem particularly likely, either.
When James seemed to be publicly flirting with retirement after the Lakers’ 4-0 exit against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, it was reportedly seen by the organization as an attempt to pressure the team to acquire more talent, with Irving seen as a top candidate.
But according to Buha, the Lakers’ front office isn’t flinching — at least, not right now. The team reportedly doesn’t believe Irving is interested in taking a pay cut in free agency, and working out a trade to keep him on a deal similar to the one that’s expiring — which according to the report from The Athletic could start around $47 million per year — doesn’t really seem tenable, either.
Further, Buha reports that James is not using Irving’s reported interest in teaming up as leverage.
This will certainly be a story to watch as we head into the offseason, but you probably shouldn’t bank on a James-Irving reunion in 2023-24.
