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Lakers will not pursue Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving this offseason

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated16 Mar 2023

Lakers will not pursue Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving this offseason

The Los Angeles Lakers are not interested in adding Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving this offseason, per sources. Lakers G.M. Rob Pelinka is content with his current roster, and the front office executives are focused on where L.A. will finish this season in the Western Conference standings.

“From what I’ve been told, they’re not going to be pursuing Kyrie Irving this offseason,” said Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “To my knowledge and to what I’ve been told, the Kyrie ship, I think, has sailed. You never want to say never. That could easily change, but as of right now, their plan is to run this [team] back.”

According to a couple of NBA betting sites, the Lakers have eighth-shortest odds to win the championship. A few sportsbooks are giving the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors better odds.

Through 51 starts this season, Irving is averaging 27.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. The eight-time All-Star is shooting 49.1% from the floor and 38.2% beyond the arc as well. If the Lakers wanted to sign Irving, one thing to note is that he expects to get paid.

While with the Brooklyn Nets last offseason, the guard exercised his $36,934,550 player option for this 2022-23 season. This is part of the four-year, $136.49 million deal he signed with Brooklyn as a free agent in 2019. At the moment, he’s currently out for Dallas due to a foot injury.

Lakers have no plans to go after Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving this offseason, more interested in re-signing D’Angelo Russell

Although the Lakers are not up to signing Irving, one item on the team’s agenda is re-signing D’Angelo Russell. ” I think those feelings are mutual,” added Buha. “When the Lakers made that deal, part of it was getting off Russ’ contract and getting out of that situation, but they could’ve potentially had Mike Conley in that deal.

“They [Lakers] looked at D’Angelo Russell as someone who could be their point guard of the future and potentially that lead ball handler and third-star type of guy that could fit around Anthony Davis and LeBron. From what I’ve been told, the Lakers have very strong interest in re-signing him. I believe it’s mutual on both sides.”

Furthermore, fans are wondering if this could be Davis’ last season in a Lakers uniform. The four-time All-NBA member is a superstar when healthy, but the center has dealt with quite a few injuries these last few years. These injuries have sidelined the 11-year veteran for dozens of games.

Excluding the shortened seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis has not appeared in at least 70 games since the 2017-18 season. Last season, the eight-time All-Star made just 40 starts.

In the 2020-21 season, he played just 36 games. There comes a time when a player becomes more of a liability than an asset. Is that time now? The Lakers are considering their options. Meanwhile, depending on this season ends, Irving will probably re-sign with the Mavericks.

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