Kyrie Irving has not been enjoying the most pleasant stay so far as a Dallas Maverick. Most felt an eventual trade to the Los Angeles Lakers was picking up steam as the trade deadline approached as Rob Peiinka’s pipe dream of a plan was for Kyrie Irving to grow disgruntled in Brooklyn and pounce on bringing him to LA when the moment was possible. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban stepped in from left field and made arguably the most unorthodox move I had seen in quite some time; as I just couldn’t wrap my head around a guard of Kyrie’s caliber lining up alongside such a ball-dominant wing like Luka Doncic; and 1-2 months into the experiment and the conclusion has not been that they have been a total failure together but at the very moment they are on the outside looking in as the regular season gets closer and closer to concluding. So the question begs, is Kyrie Irving signing with the Lakers and taking over this summer? Well a lot will factor in, including the status of unsung big man Anthony Davis.
Why? Well sure I could envision what would be the best collection of top end talent LeBron has ever played with on one team but with the surplus of turnaround the Lakers have had around LeBron and Davis over 4 years, working on bringing over yet another star guard after the failed Westbrook experiment would just be overkill. But for some odd-reason even though Lakers GM Rob Pelinka claimed bringing over D’Angelo Russell was a pre-agency move I just don’t see how Rob sells LeBron on competing for a title next season even if he manages to re-sign both trade deadline acquisitions D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura who are both eligible for extensions this coming summer. No one is getting me to buy into D’Angelo Russell long-term, I’ve seen enough of him for over 10 years at the NBA level and sure at 26 he could just be hitting his prime and finally maturing but 30 can’t get any closer and those legs aren’t getting any younger either. So why would Kyrie Irving make any sense? Someone who is 5 years older than D’Angelo Russell, well he’s Kyrie Irving that is why. Even with all his quirks, there is no denying he is arguably the most talented scorer this league has ever seen. And we’ve seen both LeBron and Kyrie defy the odds like no other duo in NBA history after their infamous comeback on Golden State close to 7 years ago.
The LeBron-Kyrie tandem was short-lived in Cleveland with Kyrie Irving allowing the media to drive him out of Ohio and in for what ended up being a reality check in Boston and Brooklyn. Kyrie Irving got the superstar treatment in Boston from former Celtics manager Danny Ainge, he even received his wish of playing with Gordon Hayward; someone he had visions of playing with in his early days in Cleveland before LeBron decided to budge in, making Kyrie Irving have to make an adjustment in his playing career he just wasn’t ready for. After originally signing a 5-year extension with the Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving thought Cleveland was his and that it was his destiny to carry Cleveland to that inevitable championship LeBron failed to get them for his first 7 years there before bolting for Miami the summer of 2010. But he buckled up and made it work with LeBron for 3 seasons as they went on to make 3 straight NBA Finals appearances and would’ve made many more had Kyrie taken the humble pill; but he wanted the same recognition Stephen Curry was receiving in Golden State at the moment and grew tired of being in LeBron’s shadow. I don’t blame him as the shot he hit over Steph in Game 7 at Oracle would make anyone’s ego raise to infinite levels.
So to conclude, sure a Kyrie Irving-LeBron James reunion would make sense specially if LeBron is seeking to win at least one last title in Los Angeles before eventually playing with his son and ushering out of the NBA but with LeBron becoming injury prone due to age and Kyrie also being a fond friend of the injury bug it would be a massive gamble to take on but a gamble worth taking. The Lakers can once again play the game of just getting by in the regular season once again next season and sure I would like the odds of LeBron and Kyrie destroying everything in their way on their way to a championship even if they would have to make it out of a Play-in Tournament but LeBron is no longer able to go from 0 to 1000 like he has practically his entire career so the hope is to have a worthwhile cast around James and Irving and go from there. The NBA does owe it to us to see LeBron and Kyrie performing together as teammates one last time, well at least if you aren’t a LeBron critic and would cringe at watching him win yet another title. LeBron and Kyrie just goes together like a nice brewed beer on a Sunday night. With Kyrie Irving’s playing career in shambles after what could be a 3rd debacle since leaving James, he could get a taste of salvation and glory once again if he signs on the dotted line this summer with the Lakers.
D-NBA 