Kyrie Irving Recruiting LeBron James to Mavs 'Bulls**t!' - NBA Insider
DALLAS — One of the biggest recent storylines in the NBA that emerged was Kyrie Irving texting LeBron James to gauge his interest in potentially joining him to play on the Dallas Mavericks as opposed to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bobby Marks, who is a former assistant general manger for the Brooklyn Nets and a current ESPN front-office insider, made an appearance on G-Bag Nation on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] to talk about a wide-range of Mavs related topics. Among them was Irving's attempt to recruit James.
In terms of the probability of James landing with the Mavs, Marks made clear that he doesn't see much of substance that will come from the idea. However, he understands the media landscape and the reactions that will come with such a story.
“I thought it was B.S. ... Hey, I get it. I mean, I get the world we live in here. I just thought like, it was out there and nothing else was with it," Marks said.
There were a few factors that Marks identified as making a move for James to leave the Lakers unlikely. Firstly, James' son, Bronny, is set to play his first season of collegiate basketball at USC. James is also signed for the next two seasons without the ability to opt out until the 2024-25 season.
"LeBron’s under contract for two years and his son just committed to [USC]. I just thought, it’s basically going fishing and some people bit on it," Marks said. "That’s my belief here and I get it. Hey, Kyrie — all power to him as far as trying to get, if LeBron was a free agent, I would say, ‘This is a story here.’ Like, how much is Kyrie willing to get back? And would LeBron come on the vet minimum? And all these different scenarios.
“I just think where he’s under contract," Marks explained. "There is a comfort level with him being in Los Angeles, we’ll see. The likelihood is that he’s still going to play. If this is next offseason and he declined his option, I think it’s a story. I don’t think it’s a story right now. I just don’t believe that.”
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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