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In a bizarre twist to an an anticipated summer storyline, soon-to-be free agent Kyrie Irving is attempting to recruit Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James to the Dallas Mavericks, according to multiple reports.
Within minutes of each other on Monday morning, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported, "Kyrie Irving has reached out to Lakers star LeBron James in attempts to see if James would come to Dallas," and Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes followed: "Irving wants the Dallas Mavericks to explore trading for LeBron."
Can we pause for a moment to appreciate how hilarious this story is? Whoever leaked this news did so on the morning after Game 2 of the NBA Finals, knowing full well it will overshadow the Miami Heat's series-tying victory against the Denver Nuggets. The odds of James joining Irving and Luka Dončić in Dallas are also somewhere close to one in a million for myriad reasons, including contracts, salary cap and desire.
James is under contract with the Lakers for $46.9 million next season. He owns a $50.7 million option for 2024-25, when he will be 40 years old. He just led the Lakers to the conference finals, might require foot surgery and floated the possibility of retirement less than two weeks ago. His family and business are now based in Los Angeles, where his oldest son Bronny has committed to play his freshman season for USC.
These all seem like pretty good reasons for James to recruit Irving to LA, not the other way around, which has been the expectation since the eight-time All-Star sought a trade from the Brooklyn Nets in February.
Should the Mavericks sign Irving to his maximum starting salary and acquire James, they would owe $133.9 million to their new Big Three — $100,000 below the projected salary cap. Given the restrictions included in the new collective bargaining agreement for teams spending in excess of $179.5 million next season, this would make team-building awfully difficult, especially when one of those stars has not played more than 56 games in three seasons. Irving could take a hefty pay cut to make this work, or James could seek a buyout from the Lakers, but both feel like another fantasy created in Irving's conspiratorial mind.
Then, there is the matter of what Dallas could trade for James, whose value extends beyond his talent. The Mavericks can only deal their 2023 and 2027 first-round draft picks, since the New York Knicks own the rights to either their 2024 or 2025 first-rounder, and Dallas owes its 2029 first-round selection to the Nets.
Dallas must also match salaries with the Lakers, meaning the salaries of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dāvis Bertāns would have to be included, along with more filler. The Mavericks' best offer not involving Dončić or Irving might look something like the $76 million owed to Hardaway and Bertāns over the next two seasons, Josh Green, Jaden Hardy and two first-round picks, including the No. 10 overall pick in this month's draft.
That is not terrible. It also would be devastating for the Lakers, who would almost certainly return to being the lottery team they were in the seven years between Kobe Bryant's last playoff appearance and James' first in LA. A trade request by James would likely be followed by another from Anthony Davis, who shares an agent with James and orchestrated an exit from the New Orleans Pelicans to join him on the Lakers.
If Irving desires a reunion with James, it would be far less complicated for the former Cleveland Cavaliers teammates to reunite on the Lakers. That would require a sign-and-trade deal, possibly sending D'Angelo Russell to Dallas in return. There is no incentive for the Mavericks to tie Dončić's future to Russell, but it is more palatable than the Lakers accepting bad contracts for one of the greatest players in NBA history.
More likely, this is a ploy by Irving to rekindle the Lakers' fading interest in him and prepare Mavericks fans for his free-agency departure. After all, if Dallas will not trade for James, what choice would he have but to leave? So the thinking goes. That or this is just part of some vision Irving had on his path to enlightenment.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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