Kyrie Irving wants to reunite with former teammate LeBron James, but apparently not with the Lakers. The superstar point guard has informed the Mavericks he wants them to explore trading for James this offseason in order to pair the two up with Luka Dončić in Dallas, according to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes.
Irving already has reached out to James in an attempt to see if he’d be interested in joining him with the Mavericks, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. James is not scheduled to be a free agent, and any trade would be extremely difficult to pull off due to the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
James has one year remaining on his contract, worth $46.9 million, and he holds a $50.6 million player option for the 2024-25 season, per Haynes. Both James and Irving would have to take a massive pay cut to make it work from a salary cap standpoint. The easier option would be for James and the Lakers to agree to a buyout—although that scenario is unlikely. Throughout his entire 20-year career, James has never been traded or agreed to a buyout.
Dallas also has toyed with the idea of making a deal for James in the not-so-distant past. According to Haynes, the team was preparing to make an offer for James this past regular season when Los Angeles was struggling prior to the trade deadline
Irving, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, appears to be making an effort to turn Dallas into a full-blown title contender.
