LeBron-Kyrie reunion with Mavs is ‘unrealistic’ and unlikely … but not impossible
New York TimesThe latest wrinkle in the Kyrie Irving–LeBron James reunion saga unfolded on Monday, with The Athletic’s Shams Charania reporting that Irving reached out to James to recruit him to join Irving in Dallas. But one team source indicated that James is not using Irving’s interest in playing with him as leverage to try to get the Lakers to trade for Irving this offseason. As for the possibility of James landing in Dallas for next season, one Lakers source characterized it as “unrealistic.” It’s logistically improbable, though technically possible. Assuming James plays next season, which The Athletic reported remains the team’s stance, the easiest way to get James to Dallas — at least for James, Irving and the Mavericks — would be by trade. Despite Irving’s recruiting efforts, the cleanest path to James and Irving playing together remains in Los Angeles, either by Irving taking a discount to sign with the Lakers in free agency or by Dallas sending him there in a sign-and-trade.