EL SEGUNDO, CA – With rumors swirling of a possible reunion of NBA champions Kyrie Irving and LeBron James out in SoCal, could a reunion work between the two superstars for the Los Angeles Lakers?
Irving, who recently signed an extension with the Brooklyn Nets, could be on the move to LaLa Land to pair up once again with James for the first time since their bitter separation back in Cleveland in 2017. Irving, when healthy, is arguably the most skilled offensive player in modern NBA history, thanks to his deft dribbling, ability to shoot from any angle, three-point shooting and finishing at the rim.
The only issue with Irving is his durability and off-the-court drama, that proved to be too much of a distraction for a loaded Nets super team that many pegged as NBA title contenders. Thanks to a humiliated four-game sweep at the hands of Irving’s former second team, the Boston Celtics, Kevin Durant asked for a trade, with Irving following suit despite inking an extension.
One must wonder what Lakers boss, Jeannie Buss is thinking in taking a chance on a player—who despite being very talented—is so unreliable, unpredictable and a perennial headache wherever he has played.
Cleveland, Boston, Brooklyn, and now possibly the 17-time NBA champion Lakers, who eat drama for breakfast may be biting off more than they can chew in the former top overall pick out of Duke. Los Angeles is a city full of characters and self-absorbed big-headed superstars, surely Irving would fit in well with the L.A. lifestyle, but can Laker Nation count on him being on the court, and not injured—or sitting out to some personal self-serving crusade?
If there is one person who can rein the mercurial Irving in, it is James. Thanks to his relationship and innate knowledge of how he thinks. If there is one thing that may keep Irving on the straight and narrow is playing on the same storied hardwood of his late idol and mentor, Kobe Bryant.
Hopefully those two things are enough to help quench whatever insatiable thirst that Irving still has.