Kyrie Irving Trade Rumors: 76ers, Mavs Join Lakers in Pursuit of Nets PG

There are reportedly "several suitors" interested in Kyrie Irving this offseason, Shams Charania of The Athletic told The Rally:

Charania listed the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks as potential landing spots.

Irving opted into the final year of his contract with the Brooklyn Nets worth $36.5 million, but he is suddenly available after teammate Kevin Durant requested a trade, which would likely kickstart a rebuild within the organization.

The Lakers have "actively engaged in discussions" for an Irving deal that would send Russell Westbrook to Brooklyn, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

That would pair together Irving and LeBron James, who helped lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a title in 2016.

Irving still has an interest in several other teams, listing six organizations as potential landing spots in a sign-and-trade before exercising his player option last week, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Both the 76ers and Mavericks were on the list, and it now appears the interest is mutual.

Philadelphia reached the second round of the playoffs last year behind MVP candidate Joel Embiid.

One question is whether James Harden remains with the organization after opting out of the final year of his contract. Harden and Irving spent parts of two seasons together in Brooklyn, but the former was traded in February.

The 76ers might also want to keep Tyrese Maxey as their primary point guard instead of taking a chance on Irving.

Dallas is another possible contender after surprisingly reaching the Western Conference Finals last season. Irving would take some pressure off Luka Doncic as another ball-handler and scorer, which is especially needed after the team lost Jalen Brunson in free agency.

On the other hand, Doncic had the highest usage rate in the NBA last season (37.4 percent), so it might not be the best fit to put another ball-dominant guard on the roster.