Grade the Trade: Lakers land star guard from Mavericks in mock blockbuster

Mavericks send Kyrie Irving to Los Angeles in mock blockbuster

In this mock blockbuster trade first proposed by Jason Reed of Lakeshowlife.com, the Mavericks send their recently-signed star guard to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for matching salary and draft compensation.

As discussed by Reed, this trade is a major hypothetical that would only happen if the Mavs struggle again with Kyrie Irving on the roster and want him gone.

Reed's proposed trade looks like this.

**Trade would have to be after January 15 since it includes Rui Hachimura

In this deal, the Mavericks land a new starting point guard in D'Angelo Russell, frontcourt depth in Rui Hachimura, and future draft compensation in the 2029 first-round pick. This package doesn't seem anywhere close to enough for Irving, but the Mavs could be desperate if the Irving and Luka Doncic duo doesn't work out.

The Lakers land Irving in this trade, and he teams up with LeBron James once again. Irving was reportedly trying to recruit James to Dallas this summer, and it seems like James wants to play with Irving at some point.

Getting Irving to Los Angeles would be easier than getting James to Dallas, and the Lakers form an elite big three of Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis. They also don't give up too much depth and swing for the fences to win a championship right now.

Now we grade the trade for both teams involved and discuss how each team would look following the trade.