Kyrie Irving is interested in a reunion with LeBron James — just not with the Lakers.
Irving has reached out to James to see if the Lakers star would join him with the Mavericks, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Monday morning.
Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes also reported Monday that Irving wants the Mavericks to try to trade for James to create a Big 3 that includes Luka Doncic.
Speculation has been swirling around James’ future since the Lakers were swept by the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals of the 2023 NBA playoffs.
James hinted that he may consider retirement after 20 NBA seasons, though there are doubts about how sincere the sentiment is.
The 38-year-old is under contract with the Lakers for $46.9 million next season, and he holds a $50.6 million player option for the 2024-25 season.
Irving, who after a tumultuous tenure with the Nets had a trade request granted and was sent to the Mavericks in February, is an unrestricted free agent.
Dallas seems to want to keep Irving in the fold after they lost Jalen Brunson to the Knicks last offseason.
The Mavericks collapsed down the stretch and were accused of tanking to get into the lottery, losing nine of their last 11 games.
Less than two weeks ago, Irving went on Instagram Live and asked people to “stop paying attention” to rumors that he would potentially sign with the Lakers in NBA free agency.
James and Irving were teammates on the Cavaliers for three seasons after James returned to Cleveland following his four-year stint with the Heat.
The duo brought the Cavaliers their first-ever NBA championship in 2016.
But after the 2016-17 season, Irving wanted out so he could be the centerpiece of a team and was traded to the Celtics.
Irving, 31, played two seasons in Boston before signing with the Nets in the summer of 2019, along with Kevin Durant.
During an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast last year, Irving, who attended some Lakers playoff games last month, admitted that immaturity cost the James-Irving Cavaliers from winning more titles.
“If I was in the same maturity line and understanding of who I am, and I look back, we definitely, definitely would’ve won more championships, because there would’ve been a better man-to-man understanding about what I’m going through. I didn’t know how to share my emotions,” Irving said. “I didn’t know how to do that. So instead of sharing, I isolated myself.”