LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will have to move forward this season without an added boost from eight-time NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving. LA reportedly was among the potential suitors for Irving, but the Brooklyn Nets opted to trade him Sunday to the Dallas Mavericks.
Following the agreement between the Mavericks and Nets, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Dallas beat out the Lakers. However, an additional report from NBA reporter Marc Stein noted that Nets owner Joe Tsai had a “presumed objective” and was not going to trade Irving to the Lakers given that was the guard’s desired landing spot. Perhaps that’s why Brooklyn was seeking such a massive trade package from LA.
Regardless of why Irving-to-LA failed to materialize, James spoke with ESPN’s Mike Wilbon on Monday and expressed how he wished a deal came to fruition.
“Well, definitely disappointed,” James told Wilbon. “I can’t sit here and say I’m not disappointed on not being able to land such a talent, someone I’ve had great chemistry with and know I got great chemistry with on the floor, that can help you win championships — in my mind, in my eyes.”
James and Irving won a NBA championship together while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Irving later requested a trade away from James in Cleveland, but the two have since made up following the split.
“But my focus is shifted now,” James said. “My focus is shifted back to where it should be and that’s this club now, and what we have in the locker room. It’s a quick pivot, it don’t take me long. It don’t take me long. I don’t get too excited about the possibilities of things that can be. I kind of envision myself on what it can, but I don’t invest all the way in until I know it’s happening. And when it does not happen, I’m back locked in on the job at hand.
“We had an opportunity, our names was out there, the Lakers name was out there,” he continued. “We had an opportunity, didn’t happen. We move on and we finish the season strong and try to get a bid into the postseason, where I feel if we go in healthy we can compete with anybody.”
James’ comments to Wilbon come after the superstar posted a cryptic tweet Sunday night. It caused many to connect the dots back to Irving’s trade.
The Lakers currently are the No. 13 seed in the Western Conference, but are just five games back of the No. 3 spot in the log-jammed standings. LA is 16-1 to win the conference and 35-1 to win the NBA championship at DraftKings Sportsbook. Given how the Mavericks’ prices moved following the trade for Irving, it’s likely the Lakers’ chances would have improved should the deal have came to fruition.
