The first time they teamed up, they didn’t win a championship. Though, Kyrie Irving is expected to meet with the Suns. Where his old Nets teammate Kevin Durant is. Could we see a reunion between the two?
Though, the Suns are not the only team that Irving is expected to meet with. As first reported by B/R’s Chris Haynes, he will meet with the Dallas Mavericks and other teams as well. One team we can be certain that won’t pursue the 31-year-old point guard is the Los Angeles Lakers.
The meetings are set to take place in Los Angeles. This offseason, the Suns have already traded Chris Paul for Bradley Beal. Though, Paul didn’t stay in Washington very long as he was quickly traded to Golden State. The Suns want to continue bringing in championship-level talent to surround Durant, Beal and Devin Booker. However, the Suns now need to replace Paul at point guard and Kyrie Irving is a viable option. The only problem would be that they don’t have the cap space to sign him outright. That is of course unless he is willing to take a significant pay cut.
The team is already above the second tax apron ($182.5MM) when you add in DeAndre Ayton. This means they can’t execute a sign-and-trade, per the new collective bargaining agreement. They’re not expected to have access to the $12.4 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception or the $5 million taxpayer mid-level exception at the moment.
The Mavericks are still the favorites to sign Irving, even though they may not feel compelled to offer him the years or dollars that he wants. The Mavericks would also like an answer sooner, rather than later.
Potential Lineup if Suns Land Irving
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Bradley Beal
SF: Devin Booker
PF: Kevin Durant
C: DeAndre Ayton
Of course, that all depends on if the Suns land the 8-time All-star. Not to mention, there have been reports of Ayton getting traded.
Want to be part of our staff? Contact us now or check out our Internships.
Follow us on all our social media!
Invest in your favorite athletes like stocks with “Prediction Strike!” Use code FANTOM when you sign up.