The Lakers’ need for a high-level guard was exacerbated as the team failed to score 100 points in a home loss to the Miami Heat. With a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it’s becoming clear that the Lakers need to add a high-level third star if they want to remain contenders this season.
Kyrie Irving is a player the Lakers targeted heavily last season before the Dallas Mavericks ended up getting him from the Brooklyn Nets and then re-signed him in the summer. The 20-15 Mavericks haven’t had Irving at full health as he started the season hurt and recently returned from a month-long absence where Luka Doncic kept the team afloat in the West.
The Mavericks have a greater need in their frontcourt than to have two high-level guards like Kyrie and Luka. If the Lakers involve the Toronto Raptors in a deal, there’s a chance they can entice the Mavericks into a Kyrie deal.
This deal sees the Raptors continuing to reinforce their players while getting a strong draft pick and moving off the expiring deals of Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. The Mavericks get a big haul for parting with Kyrie, though the Lakers will be happy to part with one pick and three rotational players to finally get Irving on the roster.
The Toronto Raptors are in the middle of blowing their roster up after dealing OG Anunoby to the Knicks last weekend. The return saw the Raptors get good young players instead of a heap of draft assets, showing what Masai Ujiri values. Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. are also on expiring contracts, and dealing them like this generates a host of assets the Raptors could either develop or move off later.
D’Angelo Russell has struggled in LA this season, but his style of offense seems perfect for new coach Darko Rajakovic. While his inconsistency will be a pill to bear, Russell could be a versatile combo guard that Rajakovic feels comfortable running with any secondary guard. He’s averaging 14.8 points and 6.1 assists but has shown he can do more while still being just 27 years old.
Rui Hachimura is 24 years old and adds a lanky wing, the kind that the Raptors could use next to Scottie Barnes or as a backup. He’s averaging 11.6 points and 3.6 rebounds while being frustrated with his role in LA. Max Christie has barely cracked the rotation this season but could develop into a high-level two-way guard that teams froth over. Richaun Holmes is a salary-filler from Dallas but comes with a valuable first-round pick that conveys after the end of Luka’s current contract, leaving the possibility of an exit open.
The Mavericks will always be in the playoff mix as long as they have Luka Doncic on the court. After a scorching December where he averaged 37.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 11.1 assists, keeping the Mavericks above .500, it’s clear Dallas needs more frontcourt help to maximize Doncic. Pascal Siakam is someone they’re already pursuing and could get it done by giving up Kyrie and adding a host of assets while deepening their rotation.
Siakam is disgruntled after a conflict with Masai Ujiri and is having a down year, averaging 22.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists. He’s doing this without a playmaker like Luka, showing strong self-creation abilities and a natural team-first on-court ethic. He’d be the perfect No. 2 for Luka, being able to take pressure off him on offense while being an active rebounder and vertical presence.
Gary Trent Jr. could start next to Luka as a defensive menace that can stretch the floor at a very high level. Trent is averaging 11.3 points on 38.5% from three this season. He’d be a perfect role-player on the Mavericks and would feast off open looks created by Doncic. Garrett Temple is an end-of-the-bench defensive stopper if they need one. The 2029 Lakers pick may be even more valuable than the 2027 pick they gave out for Luka, given it will most definitely convey after the retirement of LeBron James and possibly also Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving.
The Lakers have pursued Kyrie Irving since his exit from Boston in 2019 but haven’t been able to land him. The one year they had cap space, Irving chose to team up with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn. Since then, the Nets purposefully kept him from being traded to LA before the Lakers decided they wouldn’t give up half their roster to open up cap space to sign him in the summer. He re-signed with Dallas but this is something he wanted last season and it’s definitely what LeBron has wanted for a while.
Irving has averaged 22.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in a year where injuries have crept up on him. But the Lakers are giving up pieces that are either not contributing at a high level or have the potential to be extracted years from now. LeBron and AD don’t have years left, with this possibly even being the final season both remain this healthy and proficient. Irving is healthy now and the Lakers could trade these three pieces to get a star under contract for the next three years.
He eases their shot-creation woes in a major way, as one of the greatest isolation scorers of his generation. He takes a load off from LeBron needing to playmaker for everyone as an elite ball-handler and would be a seamless fit into how the Lakers are playing, especially with flashes of more committed defense. If a deal for Kyrie is available, it’s fair to say LA can go to their ends to make it happen
The Western Conference was considered stacked before the season started. but as teams like the Warriors and Suns didn’t look up to contend, the Timberwolves and Thunder rose the ranks. All these teams among at least five others could make the battle for playoff spots in the West a nightmare. The Lakers and Mavericks are better prepared for that battle with this deal, adding complementary depth to the Mavericks while adding a needed star for the Lakers.
The Raptors wouldn’t say no to so many assets and only one salary dump in a trade of this magnitude, as they could be a few months away from losing both Siakam and Trent Jr. for nothing. Even if the players end up fitting or not, the Raptors can create more assets through smaller trades to net an overall positive result from the trade of the last remnant of their 2019 title triumph.
The Mavericks have a lot of guard optionality to replace Irving’s production with Tim Hardaway Jr., Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy, and the addition of Gary Trent Jr. The Lakers have suffered from their roster depth with inconsistent rotations and too much optionality, something which could be consolidated in a trade to acquire Kyrie and keep strong surrounding pieces like Jarred Vanderbilt, Taurean Prince, and Cam Reddish, among others to continue keeping the defense elite.
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