Sources have reported that Dallas Maverick’s point guard, Kyrie Irving, has reached out to Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James in hopes of James teaming up with Irving in Dallas.
After weeks of rumors pointing toward Irving possibly leaving Dallas in free agency or joining James in Los Angeles through a sign-and-trade deal, this recent development is an unexpected turn of events.
Despite Dallas acquiring Irving at the trade deadline this season, the team sunk from the 6th seed in the Western Conference to the eleventh seed. Although the Mavericks blatantly tanked toward the latter half of the season, the team certainly needs more help surrounding Irving and Luka Doncic to push over the hump.
Here is what a trade sending James to the Mavericks might look like.
Dallas receives- LeBron James.
Lakers receive- Christian Wood, Tim Hardaway Jr., 2023 first-round pick (10th overall), 2026 first-round pick swap, 2027 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick swap.
Looking at this trade, it’s apparent this deal makes no sense for the Lakers as the team just reached the Western Conference Finals. However, the report of James being frustrated in Los Angeles is something that must be taken into consideration.
Following the Denver Nuggets sweeping the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, the root of James’ frustration, James went on record mentioning the possibility of his retirement this off-season.
Considering James could put the Lakers in a situation where he threatens to retire from the NBA. The Lakers will have no choice but to trade the superstar to a new team following next season.
Additionally, although James doesn’t have a no-trade clause apart of his contract with the Lakers, he would still have control over which team he would be traded to. Suppose James puts the Lakers in the debacle mentioned above. What’s stopping James from retiring outright if a trade sends him to an undesirable team?
If James were to be traded to the Mavericks, it would certainly boost the team’s chances of making noise in the playoffs next year.
James would bring a winning mindset and attitude to a team that lacks both. For example, James and Irving have already won a championship together on the Cleveland Cavaliers. James has also won the NBA Finals three times in his career with the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers.
Not to mention, MVP candidate Luka Doncic would still be on the team. A big three that consists of James, Irving and Doncic would undoubtedly be a tough challenge for any team in the NBA to defeat.
For the Lakers, this trade would leave the team to make some significant decisions regarding the team’s direction.
The Laker’s first option would be to start a complete rebuild. Considering how weak this year’s free agency class is, there isn’t a single player the Lakers could sign that would help them maintain the talent to reach the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive year.
However, in the event the Lakers are one of the worst teams in the league next year, they wouldn’t even receive their first-round pick. When the team acquired Anthony Davis through trade in 2019, a part of the deal gave the New Orleans Pelicans the right to swap their selection with the Lakers in the 2024 NBA draft should they do worse than them in the regular season.
Of course, the Lakers could ignore this fact altogether and still commit to a rebuild. This means the Lakers could trade Davis to another team in return for young assets and draft capital.
The Laker’s second option would be to retool the team around Davis and attempt to return to their winning ways. Davis is still under contract with the Lakers for the next season and has a player option to return to the team the following season.
Ultimately, James teaming up with Irving in Dallas is unlikely to happen. However, considering the power James holds in Los Angeles, it’s still a realistic possibility.
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