LeBron James-Kyrie Irving rumor is pure comedy for Lakers fans

Technically Kyrie Irving has a phone. And he probably has LeBron James’ phone number. But that doesn’t mean his ability to reach out to the Los Angeles Lakers star mean it’ll materialize into anything, especially with how their relationship ended in Cleveland.

James signed a two-year, $97 million contract extension with LA that will take him through the 2024-2025 season should he continue to keep playing an exercise his player option in the second year of the deal.

He’s a Laker and could only depart via trade, which is something he could try and influence. But what reason does he have to leave? LA reached the Western Conference Finals after turning their season around at the trade deadline. They got swept, but the Denver Nuggets were the better team.

There’s a lot of money coming off the books this offseason, too, suggesting the front office could continue to make splashes to supplement the James-Anthony Davis tandem.

That’s why Lakers fans can’t help but laugh at the rumor suggesting Irving is attempting to recruit James to Dallas to form a Big 3 alongside Luka Doncic. The toxic Mavericks didn’t even make the postseason after acquiring Irving, which proved to be an ill-advised move. Why would James want to join that picture?

Lakers Rumors: Kyrie Irving wants to team up with LeBron James in Dallas

This would be the twist of all twists, but at this rate, James orchestrating this move would undoubtedly be career suicide from a PR perspective. However, if the Lakers receive an offer they can’t refuse, they could technically move James without his permission.

Per CBS Sports:

“It’s worth noting that James’ deal doesn’t include a no-trade clause, meaning that he wouldn’t have the power to veto a deal if the Lakers decided to ship him out of town. His contract does include a 15% trade kicker, though, so his salary would increase by 15 percent if he were traded to another team.”

But what could the Mavs even offer that would blow Rob Pelinka away? A million first-round picks? Wouldn’t the Lakers rather roll the dice on trying to capture a title over the next two seasons?

“Kyrie Irving wants the Dallas Mavericks to trade for LeBron James” is an objectively hilarious headline. Most active players probably want their team to trade for one of the best players on the planet.

The one legitimate connection here is the previous buzz surrounding the Lakers’ attempt to acquire Irving at this year’s trade deadline as well as LeBron’s renewed interest in playing with his former teammate.

Never say never, but the dominos that need to fall in order to make this happen are significant. The Mavs, first, need to re-sign Irving and then clear a ton of payroll in order to make room for James. And there’s no way they can entice the Lakers with a trade package because their NBA talent is lacking while the Knicks could swipe their first-round draft picks in 2024 or 2025.

That makes us think whoever leaked this is trying to make Irving look like a fool because it’d make a ton more sense for Irving to come to LA given how much better the Lakers’ future outlook is.

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