Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James recently heaped praise on Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving, but an expert revealed it took some time for the two to bring positivity back into their relationship.
during this week’s episode Focus on the game Podcast, James called Irving is “the most talented player the NBA has ever seen” and Said He was “so angry” that the two of them are no longer teammates.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Wednesday’s episode Rise James’ relationship with Irving was strained when the point guard requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 offseason, but they have repaired their friendship in recent years.
“When Kyrie left Cleveland, they didn’t talk for several years. They disagreed with each other,” Windhorst explained. “At some point in the last couple of years, they reconciled to the point where LeBron actively wanted the Lakers to trade for Kyrie Irving twice when he was on the trade block… The Lakers made an offer at the trade deadline last year, Dallas’ offer was simply better.”
The Mavs acquired Irving from the Brooklyn Nets before the 2023 trade deadline. After a rough start to his tenure in Dallas, he found momentum this year and helped lead the team to the 2024 NBA Finals, where they will face the Boston Celtics.
Windhorst said the Lakers had another chance to add Irving when he was a free agent last offseason, but his lack of interest influenced their decision to re-sign with the Mavs.
“The Lakers actually could have created the cap space to beat the Mavericks’ offer last year, but they didn’t,” Windhorst said. “They decided to re-sign players from a team that had just reached the Western Conference Finals.”
Windhorst said it’s unlikely Irving and James will get the chance to wear the same uniform again, but anything is possible.
“I don’t think we’ll get a chance to see him play again, but I would never say he’ll never get a chance to play in the NBA,” Windhorst said.
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