The Los Angeles Lakers have been chasing after Kyrie Irving for a while now dating back to last summer when both he and Kevin Durant requested trades from the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets refused to deal Irving to L.A. as they didn’t have interest in acquiring Russell Westbrook, and they were eventually able to convince both him and Durant to stay in Brooklyn going into the season.
Even though the Nets are having a solid season, things took a turn leading up to the Feb. 9 trade deadline as Irving again requested a trade after not being able to agree to a long-term extension.
To no surprise, the Lakers were among the interested teams with even LeBron James reportedly advocating for the team to get a deal done to reunite him with his former co-stars. Unfortunately though, Rob Pelinka was unable to close a deal and Irving is being traded to the Dallas Mavericks, via Shams Charania of The Athletic:
The Mavericks are sending a 2029 unprotected first-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick and a 2029 second round-pick to the Nets, sources @TheAthletic @Stadium. Brooklyn also is sending Markieff Morris to Dallas. https://t.co/EtqlQqQuGq
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2023
While the Lakers remained involved until the end, they ultimately did not have the win-now pieces to accommodate what the Nets were looking for, via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
The Nets-Mavericks talks accelerated on a trade today, sources said. The Lakers and Nets had several conversations on a potential deal, but Nets preferred Mavs' package — getting back a point guard and wing to plug in now plus the future picks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2023
While dreams of a Big 3 of James, Irving and Davis are dead for the Lakers, they still have time ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline to pivot and make another move if they want. With the Lakers remaining out of the Play-In Tournamnent currently, another trade may be necessary if this team wants to compete for a title, especially with Irving now joining Luka Doncic in Dallas.
Irving believes James should be celebrated for his accomplishments
Before Irving was traded to the Mavericks, he spoke very highly of James. After the Lakers’ recent loss to the Nets, Irving said that James should be celebrated for his accomplishments more than he already is.
While they won’t be reunited in L.A., it’s clear that James and Irving still hold a mutual respect for each other.
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