'My Focus is Here': Mavs Star Kyrie Irving Speaks on LeBron's Lakers Desire

After his first practice with the Dallas Mavericks, Kyrie Irving gave his thoughts on Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James publicly stating his disappointment that the two stars weren't able to reunite as teammates once again.

The Dallas Mavericks finalized their blockbuster trade for Kyrie Irving on Monday before having him meet with his new teammates in Los Angeles for his first practice on Tuesday.

In his first interview as a member of the Mavericks, Irving touched on a wide variety of topics, but one of the more intriguing ones had to do with his former teammate LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. James' desire for the Lakers to add Irving before the trade deadline had been made public, but the Mavs beat them, as well as the Los Angeles Clippers and the Phoenix Suns, to the punch.

"I think you heard in [LeBron's] interview, as much as the 'what-ifs' I would love to focus on and cherish, what could have been and what should be, I have to shift my focus to what we have going on here," Irving said when asked about James openly wanting to reunite with him.

"That's what brings me peace: taking care of what I can control in here, really embracing my teammates and being one of the leaders on the team along with the coaching staff and the front office. Just exemplifying what greatness looks like, and that's just worrying about the work, chopping wood, carrying water ... just growing as a human being."

As much as Irving respects and admires his former teammate and friend, he is now fully shifting his focus to joining forces with Luka Doncic and making the Mavs a championship contender.

"Me and Bron have grown as human beings. He's always going to be my brother, I'm always going to have great things to say about him and his family, but my focus is [is with the Mavs]."

With Irving being an unrestricted free agent this summer, there's always a chance that he could explore joining James and the Lakers at that point. However, the Mavs are the only team who can give Irving the max contract he truly wants since they have his Bird Rights, unless a sign-and-trade is worked out.

For now, though, the plan is for Irving and Doncic to dominate as one of the NBA's most potent star duos. If all goes well, Mavs fans won't have to worry about Irving leaving ... because he won't want to.

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