The Los Angeles Lakers traveled to take on the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday and it was a notable game for several reasons. Not only was it a matchup between two potential playoff teams in the Western Conference, but it also had Kyrie Irving strings attached.
Los Angeles heavily tried to trade for Irving with the Brooklyn Nets seemingly having no interest in actually sending him to LA. Instead, the Nets traded Kyrie to the Mavericks to pair him alongside Luka Doncic.
LeBron James publicly made it clear that he was disappointed that the Lakers couldn’t trade for Irving. Although that disappointment was short-lived as Rob Pelinka put together a masterful trade deadline that saw the team improve and get younger for the price of one protected first-round pick.
That didn’t stop a young Mavericks fan from poking fun at LeBron wanting to pair up with his former teammate on Sunday, making a sign that King James definitely won’t appreciate.
https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1629953943223820289
LeBron James and Lakers could get the last laugh with Kyrie Irving.
Right now the Dallas Mavericks are the ones with Kyrie Irving and can poke fun at LeBron James because of it. However, that may not be the case forever and in just a few short months it could be the Lakers that get the last laugh.
Irving is on an expiring contract and if he wants to come to Los Angeles and join his former teammate then he could make it happen. Los Angeles would have to execute some kind of sign-and-trade, which is possible with the team having D’Angelo Russell’s Bird Rights.
If this happens, Dallas would have essentially traded a valuable future first-round pick for 30 games of Irving. Unless it results in an NBA Championship, this undoubtedly would not be worth it for Dallas, even if they end up with Russell instead.
Of course, this is all conjecture but as we have learned in the modern NBA, the superstars dictate what happens. If Irving wants to don the purple and gold next season then he will don the purple and gold. No question about it.
So while this young Mavericks fan may have pulled one over on LeBron James, Lakers fans should be bookmarking this so they can potentially make their own version of this sign if Irving comes to Los Angeles.