Marc J. Spears: D-League waiver preference order right …
June 6, 2023 | 6:26 am EDT Update
Dallas would intrigue LeBron James should he decide to leave the Lakers
What can be bankably confirmed about any LeBron connection to the Mavericks: Dallas is certainly a team, league sources say, that would intrigue the 38-year-old as a potential landing spot if James ever reached the point of searching for a new place to play.
Sources say that the Mavericks, however, have long understood that any chance of actually pursuing a Doncic-and-James pairing would likely require James to take the lead in actively forcing his way to Dallas. The concept predates Dallas’ acquisition of Irving from Brooklyn, going back to when the Lakers were struggling and it appeared James might be getting restless.
Yet no such trade push, with James and his family so settled in Southern California, has ever appeared closed to materializing. The last we heard from James, remember, he was dropping hints that he wasn’t even sure about playing beyond this season.
Kyrie Irving wants to shut down the notion that he’s angling to get to L.A
Yet two sources close to the process insisted Monday that Irving has consistently expressed a desire to remain a Maverick and actually wants to shut down the notion that he’s angling to get to L.A. “He wants to stay,” said one source.
Former NBA big man Brendan Haywood doesn’t think there’s any chance the Dallas Mavericks trade for the Los Angeles Lakers veteran forward LeBron James: “Come on, man. Kyrie [Irving], LeBron [James], and Luka [Donic] … Who’s gonna be the defender? This team doesn’t even fit together on paper.”
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, it is highly probable that Deandre Ayton will be traded by the Suns in the upcoming offseason. MacMahon made the comment during an episode of The Hoop Collective podcast, stating that even with head coach Monty Williams’ departure, Ayton’s departure from Phoenix is still very likely. “By no stretch do I believe that Monty Williams departure makes it much more likely for Deandre Ayton to still be in Phoenix next season. I still am pretty sure Deandre Ayton will be traded this summer,” he said.
Donatas Urbonas on Sasha Vezenkov: “At first it was almost clear that he’s for sure done with Olympiacos but for instance in the recent days I heard that the situation is changing a little bit and it’s not clear yet if he’s really going there because it takes a lot of different questions.”
