Could Kyrie Irving be back with LeBron James?
One of the biggest stories of free agency is whether Kyrie Irving will respond to LeBron James’ offer and join the Los Angeles Lakers, but it seems unlikely.
The most likely way the Lakers could acquire Kyrie Irving is through a sign-and-trade. The Lakers, who have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, have already expressed interest in re-signing Austin Reeves and Rui Hachimura.
To directly acquire free agent Kyrie Irving, who has about $30 million in salary cap space but made more than that last season, would require Irving to take a pay cut and be subject to the mid-level exception clause. However, based on Irving’s behaviour so far, this is unlikely to happen.
Therefore, in order for Kyrie Irving to join the Lakers, he would most likely have to sign a contract with Dallas and then opt for a sign-and-trade.안전놀이터
However, the Lakers don’t have a lot of cards to play with Dallas to get Irving. D’Angelo Russell is reportedly the most likely sign-and-trade target for Kyrie Irving, but Dallas is reportedly not interested in the deal.
“Dallas intends to re-sign Kyrie Irving and would not be interested in a sign-and-trade with the Lakers centred around D’Angelo Russell, according to league sources,” Mark Stein wrote in his newsletter.
“While questions remain about the Luka Doncic-Kyrie Irving combination, they are still a championship-calibre unit, and Dallas doesn’t have a replacement for Kyrie Irving,” NBC Sports wrote. He also pointed out that Kyrie Irving’s desire for more money and the overall situation makes a move to the Lakers very unlikely.
However, he left the door open: “If LeBron wants it, and Irving wants it, nothing is impossible.