Kyrie and LeBron to Reunite? Not So Fast

As the Feb. 7 trade deadline approaches, rumors about who’s going where and when become all the more frequent. With Anthony Davis and the Lakers at the forefront, plenty of other names have popped up for who could be on the way to join LeBron James in L.A. One of those names is former Cavaliers teammate Kyrie Irving. Yes, reports came out this week that Irving’s interest in reuniting with James is “for real.”

Irving requested a trade to the disappointment of James in the summer of 2017, and ended up on the conference-rival Boston Celtics. While their relationship was strained, Irving maintained that requesting a trade was centered around wanting to be the leader of his own team.

With Irving back healthy from last season, Boston has yet to fully live up to the hype. After a big win against Toronto, Irving revealed that he called James to apologize for not realizing the responsibilities of being a team’s leader.

Kyrie Irving On Why He Called Lebron James To Apologize

Calling James to apologize for the issues that led to their split shows a lot of maturity from Irving. While the two seem to have mended their relationship, should we take stock in these rumors? Will Kyrie Irving and LeBron James end up reuniting in Los Angeles? Not quite yet.

Leaving Boston for purple and gold?

Before these recent rumors, James did some trolling on his Instagram, possibly alluding to the two getting back together. The idea of many is that the Lakers will trade for Anthony Davis before the deadline, and Irving will opt-out of his player option with the Celtics, and head to Hollywood. In addition to Irving, the same has been said about Klay Thompson potentially joining a big three with James and A.D.

If Irving were to leave Boston after two seasons and go play in Los Angeles, it would be a PR nightmare for him. He has signaled on more than one occasion that he wants to stay in Boston, with the goal being to win championships.

Irving is the best player on the Celtics without question. Jumping ship to Los Angeles would make him the third best player on the team, if they do indeed acquire Davis from the Pelicans. If Irving wouldn’t mind this, what was the point of leaving Cleveland to begin with?

Kyrie Irving 2019 All-Star Starter | 2018-19 NBA Season

Right now, it’s hard to see Irving going anywhere else. The Celtics are a storied franchise, have a great coach and GM, along with a deep roster and draft picks. Boston has a great chance of going to the NBA Finals both this year, and down the line.

Why give that up so quickly? Leaving Boston to reunite with James would be detrimental to his Irving’s legacy. The narrative would quickly become that he is “soft” and nothing but a sidekick to arguably the greatest of all-time. Irving most definitely has higher goals than that.

Banner 18?

Boston has plenty of assets to trade for players, including Davis, that could make them even more of a contender. Keeping Irving should be the team’s biggest priority, so long as his health keeps up.

But if there is anything to these rumors about Irving wanting out, Danny Ainge should deal the six-time all-star immediately. The Celtics can’t afford to lose him in free agency for nothing.

Photo credited to Getty Images.

A team led by Irving, with a supporting cast of young talent and veterans, can win you a championship, especially if and when Golden State’s superstars disband. For the Celtics, the timeframe for winning is now, and Irving needs to be the focal point of that.

While the rumors will always be there, Boston needs to find the best way to show they are committed to winning long term with Irving as the leader. If the Celtics do that, expect him to sign a max extension this summer.

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