Getty LeBron James, Lakers
The Lakers remain the prohibitive favorites when it comes to NBA teams most likely to land point guard Kyrie Irving from the dismantling Nets this summer, though a deal has yet to come together. That will change soon, though, if the team’s biggest star has anything to say about it.
That’s because LeBron James knows Irving as well as any other player in the league, having teamed up with him from 2014-2017 in Cleveland, a span that included the 2016 NBA championship win over Golden State in which Irving sank one of the great shots in Finals history. Around the league, as Irving has burned bridge after bridge with former teammates, it is believed that James remains the one player who can successfully channel Irving’s ample talent into consistent production on the floor.
That’s why, according to veteran reporter Marc Stein, James is “lobbying” the Lakers to make an Irving trade happen, and quickly.
Stein: James ‘Wants to See Irving in Lakerland’
Irving is one of the most purely talented point guards in the NBA, and he averaged 27.4 points and 5.8 assists last season, making 46.9% of his shots and 41.8% of his 3-pointers on the year. Those would all be useful numbers for this Lakers team.
Of course, the good production a team gets from Irving comes with a significant side of offcourt drama, including his AWOL walkabout last January, when he was away from the team for two weeks, and his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine in compliance with a New York City mandate, which cost him more than half of last season. Irving is a high-risk gamble for most teams.
James, though, is one of the few players who can get the best from Irving. Stein, signalling his confidence in an Irving-to-L.A. trade, wrote:
I know Irving has been in Los Angeles this week, but that’s not the source of my confidence. It stems from repeated rumbles in circulation that LeBron James is rooting hard for Irving’s addition to the roster. James, I’m told, wants to see Irving in Lakerland more than anyone. What other team, furthermore, has a LeBron-sized personality with the experience to cope with all the chaos that comes with adding Kyrie? James, remember, has often thrived in chaos.
That jibes with what league executives have been saying over the last week or so, since word leaked that things were not so kosher between Irving and the Nets. Irving, unable to agree on a new contract with the team, decided to opt into the final one year and $37 million of his current contract, allowing him to hit free agency in 2023.
“Every team is a little scared to trade for him,” one general manager told Heavy.com, “except the Lakers. Because if he is going to pull any stunts like he has over the last few years, they know LeBron is not going to stand for it. LeBron knows Kyrie won’t even try any nonsense if he is on the team with him.”
Lakers, Nets Squabbling Over Kyrie Package
It could be, at this point, that Kyrie-to-L.A. is a foregone conclusion, but there are still significant details the sides need to work out. The only way to make a trade between the teams meet NBA matching salary requirements is to include either Seth Curry or Joe Harris for Brooklyn, with the Lakers sending back Russell Westbrook and some combination of Talent Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and/or a first-round pick.
Before Lakers fans get too excited, keep in mind that James also lobbied the Lakers to acquire Westbrook, a move that turned out to be a disaster. Irving should be different, but Westbrook is a cautionary tale on giving James too much sway over personnel choices.
But if the teams are able to work out the details on Harris and Curry, or get a third team to smooth the way, then Kyrie Irving will be a Laker. And LeBron James’ lobbying will have succeeded, for better or worse.