NBA Rumors: LeBron James privately pushing Lakers to trade for Kyrie Irving

NBA Rumors: LeBron James is reportedly pushing for the Los Angeles Lakers to go all-in on acquiring Kyrie Irving. 

Entering this offseason, the expectation was that the Los Angeles Lakers would be in the market to make significant upgrades if the opportunity presented itself. At the very least, the thought was that the Lakers would end the Russell Westbrook experiment and attempt to find a soft landing spot for him elsewhere.

With a little more than a month before the start of training camp, the Lakers haven’t exactly accomplished either of those things. Russ is still on the roster and there hasn’t been a tangible upgrade to the team’s roster just yet.

Though, that could all change very soon. Even more so considering that LeBron just signed a two-year contract extension with the team. That move alone will open the door for the Lakers to reciprocate by going all-in on LeBron, possibly using every asset they have at their disposal to upgrade the roster (along with getting Russ off their books).

LeBron James wants the Los Angeles Lakers to go get Kyrie Irving

And the one target that LeBron has in mind is Kyrie Irving. According to a recent report, LeBron has leaned into the idea and is privately pushing the Lakers to get a deal done for the polarizing all-star talent.

Kyrie had been linked to the Lakers earlier this offseason but it seemed as if the team was a bit apprehensive to make such a move. And you can’t really blame the Lakers either. LeBron was entering the final year of his contract with the Lakers and you can’t really afford to burn all your assets if you don’t know what LeBron is planning on doing next.

However, now that LeBron has extended his contract with the Lakers, taking him through the 2024-25 season, it’s an entirely different scenario for the Lakers.

If a deal for Kyrie is available for the Lakers to make, there’s no question that they should have no concerns in making a deal. They have the comfort of knowing that LeBron isn’t going anywhere and it would make no sense not to go all-in with LeBron still on the roster.

And despite the concerns surrounding Kyrie, he’s on an expiring contract, and if all ends horribly, they could just not re-sign him during the offseason.

But the ceiling of a possible trio of Kyrie, LeBron, and Anthony Davis should be considered too high for the Lakers not to explore the option. Now that LeBron is locked up, there’s really nothing stopping the Lakers from making a splash. Perhaps for Kyrie.