As the Los Angeles Lakers search for a third star and new head coach, they have many tough decisions to make this offseason. According to Shams Charania on the “Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams,” Charania said LeBron James‘ “perfect” world would be having Ty Lue as his coach and Kyrie Irving as his point guard.
“There’s been things, obviously, that LeBron James has wanted. In a perfect, ideal world, Ty Lue would be his head coach, Kyrie Irving would be his point guard, and that would be the end of anything. There would be no coaching search,” Charania said on May 21.
James and Irving won the NBA championship together in the 2015-2016 season, and Lue was the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers team that season. Lue and the Los Angeles Clippers haven’t come to an agreement on a long-term agreement, but Irving signed a three-year, $120 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks last offseason.
Kyrie Irving Had ‘Interest’ In Playing With LeBron James
When Irving was set to hit free agency last summer, there was plenty of speculation about him joining James and the Los Angeles Lakers. According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Irving had an interest in playing with James and the Lakers last offseason.
“Irving lives in Los Angeles in the offseason, and he had an open calendar after the Dallas Mavericks failed to make the playoffs,” Shelburne wrote. “But he was also about to become a free agent, and according to sources close to him, Irving had a strong interest in reuniting with James — the man he’d won an NBA championship with as Cavaliers back in 2016 — either in Los Angeles or Dallas.”
Shelburne added that for nearly a year, the Lakers had “internal discussions” on pursuing Irving in a trade or free agency.
“For nearly a year, the Lakers had extended internal discussions about whether to pursue Irving via trade or free agency, sources said. They’d called the Brooklyn Nets to register interest in trading for him on several occasions since June 2022, when Irving and the Nets couldn’t come to an agreement on a long-term extension.”
Instead, they didn’t land a third star last offseason and were eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs with plenty of questions heading into the offseason.
Could the Los Angeles Lakers Land Irving and Ty Lue This Offseason?
While it’s unlikely that the Los Angeles Lakers would add both Irving and Lue in the upcoming offseason, crazier has happened in the NBA.
However, the Dallas Mavericks are set to play in the Western Conference for the second time in three seasons. Irving has looked happy during his time with the Mavericks playing next to superstar Luka Doncic.
Lue could be a possibility due to not having a long-term extension, but that won’t be an easy task either.
For the Lakers, they’ll have to hope that James’ perfect world could come true if Irving and Lue show a desire to be in the Lakers organization, which is always a possibility.
If not, the Lakers will have to figure out other ways to better their roster.
Comments
Insider Reveals Lakers’ LeBron James’ ‘Perfect’ World Has Kyrie Irving and More