Lakers Not Interested in Pursuing Mavs’ Kyrie Irving in Free Agency

The Lakers are feeling good about where they are today, entering their Western Conference semifinal series vs. the defending champion Warriors.

And while they continue to be linked to Mavericks point guard and free-agent-to-be Kyrie Irving, they do not intend to pursue him this summer, per Tim Cato of The Athletic.

Instead, the Lakers intend to come back mostly intact, adding only smaller pieces around the edges this summer after finishing strong, thanks to some February trades. Bringing back guards D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves will be a priority.

The Irving-to-LA rumors resurfaced when Irving was spotted at a Lakers game against the Grizzlies. He and LeBron James even embraced in front of the cameras. 

But again, the Lakers are “disinterested” in breaking up their core to bring in Irving next season, per Cato.

“And no matter how close Irving might be to James, the Lakers are disinterested in pursuing him in free agency, say league sources …” Cato wrote. “To acquire him would require jettisoning several deadline acquisitions who have helped revitalize their season and land them in a second-round series against the Golden State Warriors.”

While a fantastic individual talent, Irving has not proven to be the type of player who can lift a team to new heights since parting ways with James and the Cavaliers in 2017. He has since played for the Celtics, Nets and now Mavericks, who are “optimistic” about the possibility of re-signing him, per Cato.

With the way things have gone for the Lakers lately, there really is no need to gut the roster to bring in Irving. Fans love stars and Irving is indeed a dynamic player. But if anyone knows success has more to do with fit than sizzle, it should be the Lakers.

Right now, they appear to have a team that fits. No need to mess with success.