Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving will be looking to get pain this summer — as opposed to heading off to the Lakers, it seems.
Per Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, Irving is seeking a max contract in July, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The Mavs could pay him in the neighborhood of $274 million over five years, but perhaps won’t need to go that high.
As we relayed here, Irving is “more likely than not” to re-sign with the Mavs, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Irving, of course, has repeatedly been linked to the Lakers, but unless they shift things around this offseason, a large deal won’t be doable. Not in LA.
“I’m not sure where else he goes,” one Eastern Conference executive told Pincus of Irving. “Unless the Los Angeles Lakers don’t re-sign [D’Angelo Russell], they can’t get to Kyrie’s max.”
Irving requested a trade after negotiations on a new contract broke down with the Nets in February. He reportedly did not like some of the criteria the Nets suggested that were related to behavior.
But mostly, he wanted the max, it seemed. The Mavs may be preparing to give it to him.
“Kyrie’s goal in pushing out of Brooklyn was to get his rights with a team willing to pay him,” a source told Pincus. “Dallas is where he’ll want to be.”
Meanwhile, the Lakers seem intent to hang on to Russell this offseason.
“I do think [the Lakers] traded for Russell with the idea they’ll go forward with him on a new deal,” Wojnarowski said.
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