Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has never been one to not speak his mind, and it seems that is the case again during this Kyrie Irving saga.
After being unable to agree on a contract extension, Irving requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets with the Lakers being among the interested teams.
According to a recent report, James is advocating for the Lakers to get a deal done to reunite with his former teammate on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James essentially confirmed that report when he spoke with Dave McMenamin of ESPN after the Lakers’ loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday. While James has maintained that he will leave trade discussions up to Rob Pelinka, he also did not have a hard time admitting that Irving would greatly help the Lakers’ championship hopes:
“That’s a Rob question,” James said Saturday after the Lakers’ 131-126 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. “You got to see him when y’all get back to L.A. I’ve told y’all a couple weeks, I don’t speak for our front office. My mindset is whatever lineup or whatever group that we have is to make sure we prepare ourselves the best way we can to go out and win. Obviously, that’s a — what’s the word you use — ‘duh’ question when you talk about a player like that.”
James and Irving had phenomenal chemistry during their time together on the Cavaliers, and adding Anthony Davis to that mix could be a scary possibility for the rest of the league.
If LeBron really wants a reunion though then he may be better served staying quiet about it, at least publically, as the Lakers looking desperate can only hurt their negotiations with the Nets.
As things currently stand, the L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns are known to be other suitors and Brooklyn is believed to be looking for win-now pieces, which means the Lakers will have to find a third team to take on Russell Westbrook.
Contract extension length holding up potential trade for Irving
The main thing that led to Irving requesting a trade was the Nets’ unwillingness to give him a full max extension. That may be the case with the Lakers as well as they only reportedly want to give him a two-year deal, which could hold up a potential trade.
With only a few days until the deadline, it will be interesting to see if the Lakers stick to that or cave and trade for Irving knowing he will want a four-year max in the summer.
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