AP Photo/Sam Hodde
The Dallas Mavericks have reportedly shown no interest in sending All-Star guard Kyrie Irving to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a sign-and-trade deal.
According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Dallas has expressed “little willingness” to engage with the Lakers in such talks and is instead focused on trying to retain Irving in free agency.
The Mavs acquired Irving in a deal with the Brooklyn Nets prior to the trade deadline, but he is set to become a free agent this offseason and could turn into a rental if Dallas is unable to re-sign him.
Fischer noted that the Phoenix Suns could potentially circle back in an attempt to trade for Irving as well since they expressed interest in him at the deadline before acquiring Kevin Durant from the Nets instead.
Fischer theorized that the Suns offering veteran point Chris Paul in a sign-and-trade could interest the Mavs more than getting D’Angelo Russell from the Lakers in a similar deal.
The Lakers are limited in what they can offer free agents due to their salary-cap situation, so a sign-and-trade is likely the only realistic scenario for them to land Irving. Otherwise, Kyrie would have to take a massive discount to sign with the Lakers, which was something he seemingly wasn’t willing to do last offseason when he opted into the final year of his deal with the Nets rather than becoming a free agent.
The 31-year-old Irving enjoyed another highly productive year this season, averaging 27.1 points, 5.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game in 60 contests en route to his eighth career All-Star selection.
Injuries limited Irving to only 20 games with the Mavericks after the trade, and while he averaged 27.0 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game, Dallas went only 8-12 with him in the lineup. As a result, the Mavs missed the playoffs just one year after reaching the Western Conference Finals.
Meanwhile, the Lakers went to the Western Conference Finals this season with LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the way. They also received significant contributions from Austin Reaves, Dennis Schröder and Lonnie Walker IV, as well as trade deadline acquisitions like Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura.
Russell, Walker and Schröder are set to be unrestricted free agents this offseason, while Reaves and Hachimura will be restricted free agents.
Acquiring a player like Irving would perhaps force the Lakers to part ways with many of their supporting cast members, and it is unclear if that would be the best move for them next season and beyond.
Kyrie would give the Lakers a third star and a player who won a championship with LeBron in the past as members of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he has consistently dealt with injuries and bounced around between multiple teams since then.
Assuming the Mavericks are not open to a sign-and-trade, re-signing with Dallas may represent Irving’s best chance to land a significant contract in addition to giving him a chance to contend alongside Luka Dončić.
