One of the biggest questions going into the Lakers’ offseason is their plans with LeBron James, an unrestricted free agent, who could realistically leave Los Angeles this summer. Therefore, the Lakers are bound to need a plan B for a potential future without LeBron James next season.
According to NBA insider Scoop B Robinson, the Lakers’ front office, even though they want James back next season, has internally discussed the possibility of which players to target if James decides to leave the Lakers this summer. And they have ‘quietly’ discussed the potential reunion of their Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic with his former Mavericks teammate, Kyrie Irving.
The 34-year-old veteran’s future with the Mavericks has been tossed in the air ever since the franchise parted ways with Jason Kidd. While internally they hope to keep Irving in Dallas, their front office may decide to move on from the veteran star to find someone more in sync with the timeline of a young team.
Therefore, the Lakers could look to explore potential trades for the 34-year-old veteran if LeBron James decides he no longer wants to stay in Los Angeles. Even though reports previously indicated that the Mavericks’ front office may no longer do business with the Lakers’ front office after Luka Doncic’s trade.
Doncic and Irving were teammates for a short duration (roughly two seasons), where the Mavericks propelled from being a team that missed the playoffs to a team that went to the NBA Finals in the 2023-24 season.
Subsequently, when Doncic was traded to the Lakers, there were reports that the Lakers’ front office was looking to reconstruct a similar roster around him as he had with the Mavericks. There is no better way to make that happen than having the same star talent be the running mate alongside Luka Doncic in the coming season.
Of course, all of these scenarios are dependent on LeBron James’ decision in free agency. If LeBron James takes a significant pay cut to stay with the Lakers, they could still figure out a way to bring Kyrie Irving to the franchise.
A team with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves would be the dream scenario for the Lakers, but the question remains what they will need to give the Mavericks to make it happen.
The Lakers have two first-round picks (2031 and 2033) left in their tradable assets and are reportedly looking to offload the contract of players like Jarred Vanderbilt. A package including those unwanted contracts with the future first-round picks may be the most the Lakers want to offer.
But that will likely not be enough for the Mavericks to trade a generational talent like Kyrie Irving. Therefore, it is unlikely that any deals landing Irving in Los Angeles are discussed between the teams that don’t include a young player like Austin Reaves in the package headed to the Mavericks.
But considering that Luka Doncic reportedly wanted Austin Reaves to remain untouchable in the discussions for a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo, he would not be happy if Reaves is traded to the Mavericks. Hence, it will be interesting to see if the Lakers make any moves further the agenda of potentially landing Irving in Los Angeles.
