23 May 2023 , 19:57
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The Los Angeles Lakers could sanction the trade of Anthony Davis following their embarrassing NBA Play-Offs Western Conference final defeat to the Denver Nuggets in a bid to halt LeBron James from retiring, according to Colin Cowherd.
The Lakers were embarrassed by the Nuggets, losing the series 4-0 despite star man James scoring 40 points in Monday's 111-113 Game Four defeat. After the game, the four-time NBA champion and MVP refused to rule out retirement following the Lakers' Play-Off humiliation. "Going forward with the game of basketball, I've got a lot to think about," James told reporters after the defeat, before confirming that he would weigh up retirement in the offseason.
Another key star Davis put up 21 points for the Lakers and was key in the Lakers' run to the Western Conference final. However, according to The Volume, the Lakers could sanction a trade for Davis this offseason and send the 30-year-old center to the Dallas Mavericks with James supposedly still having a soft spot for Kyrie Irving, who could end up in LA to help halt LeBron's retirement thoughts.
"Dallas would love AD," Cowherd explained. "He solves all their issues. He gives them a second scorer, he's not at all ball dependent, Luka [Doncic] gives you the 70 games and the consistent energy, Anthony scores 23 without really setting up plays for him, he gives them a rim protector.
"I heard at the trading deadline, 'Dallas has their eye on Anthony Davis'. And they think LeBron still has a soft spot for Kyrie Irving. I think the Lakers and the Mavericks - you will hear in the next month something, I really believe that, and I think you have to take the phone call and listen."
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Point guard Irving and James played together for three years at the Cleveland Cavaliers between 2014 and 2017 before the Australian-born megastar moved to the Boston Celtics. The pair won an NBA championship together in 2016, where they defeated the then-reigning champions, the Golden State Warriors, 4-3.
It is claimed that LeBron James has a soft spot for Kyrie Irving (Getty)Since parting ways with James, Irving has earned four NBA All-Star selections - but is yet to get close to a second championship while LeBron struck again in 2020 with the Lakers.
He lasted just two years in Boston before joining the New York Mets, but his time in the Big Apple wasn't without controversy, having been suspended by the franchise at one point due to his failure to "unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs".
And mid-way through the 2022/23 season, Irving landed in Dallas, but he was unable to help the Mavericks reach the NBA Play-Offs, finishing 11th in the Western Conference despite his and Doncic's best efforts.