Lakers and Clippers Given Favorable Odds to Land Kyrie Irving
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If Kyrie Irving leaves the Dallas Mavericks, Adam Thompson of bookies.com has given the Los Angeles Lakers and the LA Clippers the best odds to acquire the star point guard. The full breakdown of the odds look like this:
Dallas Mavericks +150 (40%), Los Angeles Lakers +175 (36.4%), Los Angeles Clippers +950 (9.5%), Houston Rockets +1000 (9.1%), Atlanta Hawks +1400 (6.7%), Chicago Bulls +1500 (6.3%), San Antonio Spurs +1800 (5.3%), The Field +1400 (6.7%)
It's understandable why the Lakers are listed so high, as the connection with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving is no secret. The two won a championship together in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and there have been several reports about a mutual interest between the two in reuniting.
As for the Clippers, it's more difficult to see a pathway to them acquiring Irving. The Clippers do not have any cap space to sign Irving with, meaning the two sides would need to get creative with sign and trade framework. Expected to pursue the possibility of re-signing Russell Westbrook in free agency, the Clippers have given no real signs of being in the point guard market just yet. Should Westbrook sign elsewhere, then perhaps the team would look into the possibility of acquiring Irving.
The Clippers were linked to Irving when the star guard became available last season, but the Dallas Mavericks ultimately traded for him, and the Clippers signed Westbrook after his buyout with the Utah Jazz.
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