There aren’t a large number of star players available in free agency this summer, but one of the biggest is point guard Kyrie Irving. Despite the baggage that he comes with, there is no denying Irving is one of the most talented players in the NBA and has long been linked with the Los Angeles Lakers.
During the season, the Lakers did engage in trade talks for Irving, but nothing materialized and he was eventually dealt to the Dallas Mavericks. Now an unrestricted free agent, Irving is free to sign anywhere and will be meeting with a number of teams once free agency opens up.
And according to Bill Reiter of CBS Sports, the Lakers will be one of those teams that meets with the All-Star point guard:
Sources tell @CBSSports that on top of Dallas and Phoenix, Kyrie Irving will meet today with Miami, Houston, the Lakers and the Clippers. Meetings will be in Los Angeles and, in a few cases, remote.
— Bill Reiter (@sportsreiter) June 30, 2023
This comes as a bit of a surprise as most rumors and reports so far have been that the Lakers are not interested in bringing Irving in. Likewise, there was also a report that Irving wanted to shut down rumors of him coming to L.A. and prefers to re-sign with Dallas.
Considering everything the Mavericks gave up to acquire Irving, it would seem likely that they would offer him a maximum contract or close to it to keep him around. The Lakers, however, are limited in what they could offer as they have just the non-taxpayer midlevel exception worth $12.4 million and the biannual exception worth $4.5 million.
Whether Irving would actually agree to a deal in that range remains to be seen, but the Lakers also have their own returning point guards that they seemingly want back in D’Angelo Russell and Dennis Schroder. It still seems unlikely that Irving will be a Laker, but the team will at least meet with him and see if there is some common ground.
Lakers ‘leaning towards’ bringing back D’Angelo Russell
Potentially bringing in Irving would also be interesting considering the latest reports surrounding the Lakers’ other point guard in D’Angelo Russell. The team is reportedly leaning towards bringing Russell back on a two-year deal.
Reportedly this contract would in the $20 million range with a team option on the second season. Basically a very team friendly deal that the Lakers could get out of in another year or possibly trade if the right deal came up during the season.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
