One of the biggest storylines of the upcoming offseason will be where Kyrie Irving ends up signing.
Despite announcing prior to the 2018-19 season that he planned to re-sign with the Boston Celtics, Irving has changed his tune and admitted that anything is on the table in terms of his free agency. ESPN's Brian Windhorst recently revealed on his podcast that Irving has "had discussions" about potentially playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.
"As time passes here, I would've said that this is impossible for many months," Windhorst said. "But as time passes here and as the possibility exists that Jason Kidd could be hired as the Lakers coach, I think the possibility of Kyrie and LeBron reuniting — that door, which was deadbolted, has been un-deadbolted and has now been cracked open … It might even be opening more by the day. And I say that just because I think it's on Kyrie's radar, it's on Kyrie's board. He has had discussions with people about playing for the Lakers."
Joining the Lakers certainly would be a full-circle move for Irving. After spending the first six seasons of his NBA career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Irving expressed a desire to be traded, so that he could be "the guy" on a team. Irving was playing alongside LeBron James and the duo did help lead the Cavaliers to an NBA title in 2016.
Now James resides in Los Angeles after signing with the Lakers last summer. Despite many believing that there was bad blood between Irving and James, the two buried the hatchet earlier this season, so a reunion may not be out of the question.
Boston certainly didn't do Irving any favors by bowing out to the Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Irving was extremely productive as the team's primary option the last two seasons as he put together averages of 24.1 points, 6.1 assists, and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the arc. However, he did struggle during their series against the Bucks.
The Lakers certainly will be looking to improve their roster after missing the playoffs this past season despite adding several veteran players to the fold. Irving would certainly be quite the upgrade, but it appears to be just speculation at this point.
