Heading into Year 2 with LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers have an opportunity to improve the roster in the 2019 NBA Draft and free agency.
Although there are currently more questions than answers, Los Angeles will have an unexpected lottery pick and a projected $38 million in cap space.
As the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery is on May 14, all of the attention is naturally on landing that second All-Star player via free agency or trade.
While there have been conflicting reports, Kyrie Irving reportedly has had discussions about playing for the Lakers, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN as transcribed by Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype:
“As time passes here, I would’ve said that this is impossible for many months. But as time passes here and as the possibility exists that Jason Kidd could be hired as the Lakers coach, I think the possibility of Kyrie and LeBron reuniting — that door, which was deadbolted, has been un-deadbolted and has now been cracked open … It might even be opening more by the day. And I say that just because I think it’s on Kyrie’s radar, it’s on Kyrie’s board. He has had discussions with people about playing for the Lakers.”
Despite winning one championship in three consecutive NBA Finals appearances with James, Irving requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers prior to the 2017-18 NBA season. As Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics, he was able to relate to James as the team’s leader and eventually apologized.
While it seemed highly unlikely at the start of the 2018-19 season, it appears James and Irving could reunite in Los Angeles. Although Irving has many options, there is no guesswork between him and James, which led to a lot of success in their first stint together.