Lakers Rumors: Mavs' Kyrie Irving Trade Offer Was 'Preferred' by Nets over LA's

There will be no Kyrie Irving and LeBron James reunion on the Los Angeles Lakers this season.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Sunday that the Brooklyn Nets "preferred" the trade package the Dallas Mavericks offered for Irving compared to the ones the Los Angeles Lakers discussed during "several conversations."

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Brooklyn sent Irving and Markieff Morris to Dallas in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick, and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029.

The Lakers speculation was almost immediate after Irving requested a trade from the Nets.

From a basketball standpoint, the Purple and Gold are a team in win-now mode with James playing at 38 years old and Anthony Davis on the roster. Irving is someone who could have taken full advantage of the spacing created by those two with his outside shot and ability to penetrate off the bounce, and there is a track record of championship success between the eight-time All-Star and LeBron.

After all, they won the title together in 2016 as the two best players on the Cleveland Cavaliers, and James certainly didn't do anything to quell the noise when he posted a cryptic tweet shortly after Irving's request:

He was also asked if Irving is someone who could help Los Angeles achieve its championship goals and told reporters, "Obviously, that's a—what's the word you use—'duh' question when you talk about a player like that."

The Lakers surely would have needed to include their 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks if they were going to acquire a player of Irving's caliber, but the Mavericks were the ones who ultimately won out on the trade sweepstakes.

While there remain questions about how Irving and Luka Dončić will fit together and whether Dallas has enough defense to compete with the best teams in the league come playoff time, this at least provides the team's star with some much-needed help.

Dončić is second in the league with a 37.6 percent usage rate, per NBA.com, and now won't be tasked with creating shots for himself and others seemingly every time down the floor in crunch time.

The Mavericks are sixth in the Western Conference standings at 28-26, but they now have the star power to potentially move up the seeding list ahead of the postseason.