LeBron desperately wants to win another title and preferably one that isn’t in a bubble.
Even though he is still playing at an extremely high level, he knows the Lakers as they are currently constructed just don’t have the horses to win a title.
They are struggling to even make the playoffs.
LeBron believed that Kyrie was the missing piece and then this happened.
The Brooklyn Nets are trading Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday.
The Mavericks are sending Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029 to the Nets in exchange for Irving and Markieff Morris, sources said.
The Nets plan to offer the picks acquired in the trade — as well as their 2027 first-round pick via the Philadelphia 76ers — in trade talks to try to improve the roster ahead of the Thursday trade deadline, sources said.
The Lakers and Nets discussed possible Irving deals on Friday and Saturday, but ultimately the Mavericks’ package gave the Nets a better chance to surround Kevin Durant with players now — as well as the opportunity to acquire three draft picks, sources said. The Nets had been looking at three-way deals involving the Lakers before discussions with the Mavericks came together fairly quickly Sunday afternoon, sources said.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has a long history with Irving, going back to their Nike days together, and Dallas coach Jason Kidd was a proponent of the trade. The Mavericks also ran the deal for Irving past All-NBA star Luka Doncic, who gave it a nod, a source told ESPN. The Mavs can now wait to see how the rest of the season goes before deciding on a new deal for Irving.
Irving is expected to arrive for a physical on Monday in Dallas and travel to make his Mavericks debut at the LA Clippers on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN), a source said.
LeBron went to Twitter with a cryptic tweet wondering why the Lakers won’t trade any star players for him.
Flip the pages for the Tweet and the reactions.
