NBA Rumor: Kyrie Irving Recruiting LeBron James to Join Luka Doncic's Mavs
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks have to take significant steps toward improving the roster around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving this offseason after a 38-44 finish to the 2022-23 season. Their lack of success in the win-loss column resulted in failure to qualify for the play-in tournament in the Western Conference.
It appears as though Irving, who is an impending free agent this offseason, has a creative idea for the Mavs to improve the team by using his recruiting efforts.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Irving has reached out to his former teammate, LeBron James, to gauge interest in joining him on the Mavs.
"Kyrie Irving has reached out to Lakers star LeBron James in attempts to see if James would come to Dallas," Charania reported. "Irving is a free agent this offseason."
The Mavs would first need to resolve Irving's free agency prior to making any other bold move to bolster the roster around him. He is eligible to sign a five-year, $272.9 million contract if he were to re-sign with Dallas. If he was to depart and sign outright with a different team, he is eligible to sign a four-year, $198.5 million contract.
James is signed through the 2024-25 season with the Lakers, but has a $50.6 million player option in the final season. He is projected to account for $46.9 million in salary next season but that is currently an estimate until salary cap numbers are formalized since he accounts for 35.0 percent of his team's salary cap.
For the Mavs to acquire James, it would take a significant amount of outgoing salary to satisfy the league rules. While the Lakers' interest or willingness to take on a specific contracts remains to be seen, some options include a combination Tim Hardaway Jr., Davis Bertans, Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock, JaVale McGee, or Josh Green could prove helpful in salary matching efforts.
The Mavs are currently limited to outright trading just the 10th pick in this year's draft along with a 2027 first-round selection due to the Stepien Rule. Dallas traded its 2029 first-round pick in the midseason trade to acquire Irving from the Brooklyn Nets.
An alternative option could involve James receiving a contract buyout from the Lakers to then enter free agency — allowing him to sign for less on his next contract to make a cleaner financial outlook for the Mavs. Another angle could be for Irving to take less on his next contract to help accommodate the financial pathway to make it work.
Before the action of the offseason unfolds, the Lakers have been a strongly speculated potential landing spot for Irving due to that potential interest in playing with James. However, the mechanics for a sign-and-trade to work would be too challenging if Irving seeks to earn a max contract without involving Anthony Davis in the deal, or working out a double sign-and-trade with D'Angelo Russell.
Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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