Evidently, the Los Angeles Lakers have been looking to sign in Kyrie Irving for a long time. The idea behind this trade is to reunite LeBron James and Kyrie Irving long after their days with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Even James seemed excited to welcome Irving into the Lakers franchise. When they were in Cleveland, LeBron, and Kyrie together won the NBA championship in 2016 after defeating the Golden State Warriors.
They came back from a 1-3 deficit to win the title. No other team before them had won the NBA finals after being behind by this margin. But the James-Irving team did that for the first time. They ended the Cleveland curse of a sports championship. It was a historic moment. But after leaving the Cavaliers, King James won his fourth championship with the Lakers. Now, he is looking for his fifth title with the Lakers this postseason. But after that, will the Lakers’ front office try to buy Kyrie Irving in the next offseason?
Lakers Can Actually Afford Kyrie Irving In The Offseason
There was a phase in the regular season this year when the Lakers thought Irving was joining the Los Angeles franchise. It happened when Irving suddenly decided to leave the Nets. At the time, they were at the forefront of buying him, among other teams. But the Nets finally chose the Mavericks to trade Irving. The deal with the Mavericks was more lucrative for the Brooklyn Nets. However, after the regular season was over, the Mavericks failed to make the postseason. But the Lakers made it. Apparently, a great player like Kyrie Irving never feels good if they can’t make the postseason. Moreover, it seems like Irving, too, wants to join the team in the offseason, as he is a free agent now available for the offseason. Irving also came to watch Game 6 between the Lakers and the Grizzlies.
But after seeing the Lakers demolish the Grizzlies by 40 points, perhaps Irving thought they didn’t need him. As a result, he left after the third quarter. However, in a recently released Bleacher Report article, Zach Buckley mentioned that the Lakers can afford Kyrie Irving in the 2023 off-season. Apparently, the Lakers and Mavericks can sign a contract involving D’Angelo Russell in the offseason, who’ll also become a free agent after the season is over. However, The Athletic’s Tim Cato presented a contrasting view. According to Cato, “There is nothing noteworthy about an out-of-season player visiting Los Angeles to see a postseason game.” Los Angeles is like the summer home of the NBA.
Will Rob Pelinka Risk Buying Irving?
Seemingly, the Lakers would never try to jeopardize the roster they have got now. Kyrie Irving has earned as much as $233 million in his career while playing for the Cleveland, Boston, Brooklyn, and Dallas franchises. Furthermore, to buy Irving, the LA side might have to exchange some of the acquisitions that came from the February trades.
Those acquisitions helped the LA side make the postseason this summer. Kyrie Irving could not help the Mavericks qualify even for the play-in tournament. Hence, buying him can be a little bit too risky. Now the question is if the LA side is willing to take that risk to reunite James and Irving after such a long time.