When Kyrie Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks several weeks ago, it was assumed the days of the Los Angeles Lakers trying to acquire him were all but over.
They had made two separate attempts to land him — one last summer and one prior to the Mavs putting together the package that the Brooklyn Nets said yes to.
On a recent HoopsHype podcast, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha said the Lakers plan on keeping their current roster intact rather than making yet another push at landing the talented yet enigmatic guard, who could become a free agent this summer.
But Tristan Thompson, a former teammate of Irving and LeBron James while with the Cleveland Cavaliers, believes the two are meant to be together once again.
Via Lakers Daily:
“I’ve been pushing that reuniting, coming together for so long,” Thompson answered when asked by Green about the potential James-Irving tandem. “With Kyrie and LeBron, it was almost like a match made in heaven. They brought the best out of each other. … It’s not over yet. There’s still a couple more chapters between them two that they can make some magic happen.”
Getting Irving to join the Purple and Gold, even if the organization is intent on making it happen, would be complicated and risky. Los Angeles would have to renounce several of its current players, including possibly Austin Reaves and Jarred Vanderbilt. Both have emerged as valuable pieces and popular players among the team’s fan base, in order to clear enough salary cap space to make Irving a satisfactory offer.
He could give the Lakers a true superteam that could actually be cohesive and make sense, basketball-wise, but it would mean they would be bereft of the depth and youth that is needed to seriously contend for the NBA championship these days.
