LeBron James' Lakers Chances of Pursuing Mavs' Kyrie Irving 'Increasing': NBA Insider

The Lakers continue to be linked to Mavs impending free agent Kyrie Irving as their outlook in the Western Conference Finals sinks to a 3-0 series deficit.

DALLAS — With the Los Angeles Lakers now placed in a 3-0 series deficit against Nikola Jokic's Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, the focus naturally shifted toward what offseason maneuvers can be made to add talent around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. No team has ever overcome such a series deficit.

When the Lakers are playing faced with a disadvantaged situation, there seemingly becomes a spotlight placed on the idea of Kyrie Irving becoming an option to pair back up with James. After averaging 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on .494/.379/.905 shooting splits last season, Irving is eligible to sign a deal worth up to $272.9 million over five years with the Mavs. If he were to depart, he could sign a four-year, $210.1 million contract with another team. 

Recent reporting has suggested the Lakers being disinterested in pursuing Irving this summer. During a recent episode of "The Hoop Collective" podcast, ESPN's Brian Windhorst shared his analysis of what could be ahead for the Lakers this offseason. His current read of the situation is there being an "increasing" chance of the Lakers making a run at Irving during the offseason. 

"I could just see Kyrie ready to come and the feel on like, 'Look, we just got to the Conference Finals, imagine if we replace Russell with Kyrie?' The Lakers have fallen for this before," Windhorst said. "The way this is ending, I think it's increasing the chance of it happening."

Brian Windhorst said on "The Hoop Collective" that he sees the Lakers falling down 3-0 in the Conference Finals as "increasing the chances" of them making a Kyrie Irving pursuit:

"I could just see Kyrie [Irving] ready to come and the feel on like, 'Look, we just got to the… pic.twitter.com/ValZ3HuE5B

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) May 21, 2023

With the Lakers already set to pay James nearly $53.4 million and $40.6 million to Davis, they would need to get creative with how they'd facilitate acquiring Irving given the need to satisfy the hard cap. As we have previously crunched the numbers, it would surely require Irving taking significant less than a max contract with many obstacles, especially if the goal — as reported by numerous insiders — is to retain impending free agent Austin Reaves. They also have to account for Rui Hachimura (restricted) and D'Angelo Russell hitting the open market. It 

"It would take a little bit of maneuvering, and Kyrie [Irving] would probably have to not take the max, or [the Lakers] would have to work on something with Dallas, but they can get there," Windhorst said. "They can keep [Austin] Reeves and get Kyrie."

Brian Windhorst on "The Hoop Collective" podcast discussing Mavericks' impending free agent Kyrie Irving as a Lakers target:

"It would take a little bit of maneuvering, and Kyrie [Irving] would probably have to not take the max, or [the Lakers] would have to work on something… pic.twitter.com/hXRiko5FgC

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) May 21, 2023

Any scenario where Irving lands with the Lakers in a sign-and-trade scenario requires cooperation from the Mavs. Windhorst believes that if Irving wants to go to Los Angeles, Dallas would "probably" have to cooperate in facilitating a deal.  

"The Mavericks have more chips on the table. They're still holding what they invested to get him," Windhorst said. "If Kyrie says, 'Hey, I'm going to the Lakers, and I'll go the Lakers for X, and you can trade me and get something back,' I think if the Mavericks' backs are put up against the wall, [they] would probably have to cooperate."

"I've heard people float some Kyrie things to me and I can't rule it out because I know even though the Mavericks don't want to, they might have to, which brings in more teams," Windhorst explained.

The Mavs gave up Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, a 2029 first-round pick, and multiple second round picks to acquire Irving from the Brooklyn Nets. If Irving was to depart, it'd be important to continue the potential for a transaction cycle by receiving value in return in a sign-and-trade. Dallas remains optimistic in its outlook to re-sign Irving this offseason. 

"I think the things that he said along the way about how he feels here, how he feels appreciated, how he feels accepted and allowed to be himself — those are the things that he said kind of consistently," Mavs general manager Nico Harrison said regarding Irving during his media exit interview. "That's what gives me the optimism that he wants to be here."

Whether Irving returns or not, the Mavs must find a way to improve what proved to be a poor defensive roster. Without a rim protector and leaky on-ball defense, an inability to get timely stops proved to be too much for Doncic and Co. to overcome — often placing them in clutch situations that otherwise could have been prevented and resulting in avoidable losses.

While the Mavs do face the need to improve defensively, losing Doncic's new co-star would place them back into the situation of needing to find one with an even further depleted set of assets at their disposal. Ultimately, Dallas would be at risk of being a poor defensive team without a co-star and an urgent timeline to keep a superstar satisfied after failing to qualify for the play-in tournament.

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Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).

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