Will Kyrie Irving choose Mavericks over joining LeBron James and Lakers this summer?

LeBron James will recruit Kyrie Irving to leave Dallas Mavericks and join the Lakers

The Mavericks' biggest opposition to keeping Kyrie long-term is LeBron James. It is not the Lakers. Kyrie has tremendous respect for King James, and they defeated the seemingly unbeatable Warriors in Cleveland in 2016. Irving eventually asked out, but the All-Star draft proved LeBron wants Kyrie as his teammate.

The Lakers are not signing Kyrie if LeBron leaves. James is happy in Los Angeles, and he wants to help build a title contender. They won the championship in 2020, but LeBron is hungry for that fifth ring that puts him on par with Kobe Bryant.

James needs Irving to make that a reality, so he will have his best recruiting pitches ready. Kyrie decided to team up with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn when they were both free agents in 2019. Could he make a similar pact with LeBron this summer?

Irving may want to play with his friend over staying in Dallas and trying to compete with Luka. Fans won’t know until the future Hall of Famer has made his decision in free agency.

The Dallas Mavericks should be concerned about it. Losing Kyrie Irving for nothing is a possibility. How likely is he to join the Lakers? Here is a closer look.