LeBron James' Push for Kyrie Irving amid Lakers Trade Rumors Could Be About Legacy

The Los Angeles Lakers appear to have a No. 1 offseason target in mind. Los Angeles has already added some complementary players like Troy Brown Jr, Damian Jones and Juan Toscano-Anderson, but they haven't landed their proverbial big fish yet.

We're talking, of course, about Brooklyn Nets point guard—and LeBron James' former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate—Kyrie Irving.

Irving opted into the 2022-23 season with Brooklyn, but that was before Kevin Durant's trade request to the franchise. The Lakers now may have the opportunity to land Irving in a deal that would also clear Russell Westbrook's $47 million salary from the books.

According to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes, the Lakers and Nets have opened discussions about such a deal.

"The Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets are actively engaged in discussions on a trade package that would send star point guard Russell Westbrook to Brooklyn in exchange for star point guard Kyrie Irving," Haynes wrote on Saturday.

Naturally, these have been preliminary talks, and the Lakers have yet to aggressively pursue Irving, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

"The Lakers have yet, I'm told, to be aggressive in trying to put a deal together to get [Kyrie] from Brooklyn," Wojnarowski said Sunday on SportsCenter (h/t ClutchPoints). "That may come, that may evolve with time. But so far right now, there's no traction really on deals with either Irving or Kevin Durant."

Unsurprisingly, James has been actively pushing to bring Irving to Los Angeles.

"James, I’m told, wants to see Irving in Lakerland more than anyone," NBA insider Marc Stein recently wrote (h/t Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll). "What other team, furthermore, has a LeBron-sized personality with the experience to cope with all the chaos that comes with adding Kyrie? James, remember, has often thrived in chaos."

According to Stein, James has been "rooting hard" for a trade that reunites him with Irving.

This isn't a revelation. James and Irving won a championship together in Cleveland, and it was Irving who forced his way from the franchise, not James.

"I never felt like I didn't want to play with him. The only thing I tried to do is give him whatever I could and more," James said back in 2018, per The Athletic's Jason Lloyd.

Irving is a much better complement to James and Anthony Davis than Westbrook, too. As a high-percentage shooter with three-point prowess—Irving shot 46.9 percent from the floor and 41.8 percent from beyond the arc last season—he's the perfect weapon to play off of the inside-power game of James and Davis.

Westbrook, who is more of a transition scorer and high-volume shot-taker, flopped in his first season with the Lakers.

With Irving in the fold, the Lakers would be legitimate threats to emerge from the Western Conference. However, James' push to land his former teammate may be about more than just the 2022-23 season—and the 37-year-old has yet to commit to an extension beyond said season.

The reality is that this may be about James' legacy. He already holds numerous records and is high on many statistical lists, but some will never recognize James as one of the greatest to ever play without championships.

This fact has guided James through several stages of his career. First, he left Cleveland for the Miami Heat to win a title—because convincing stars to join the Cavaliers was too much of a challenge. Then, he returned to the Cavs to bring a championship to Cleveland.

After fulfilling his promise to Cleveland, James then headed to L.A. to try bringing another championship to one of the league's most venerable franchises. In all three stops, James reached the pinnacle of NBA success, but now he finds himself at another crossroads.

James would undoubtedly love to add a fifth championship to his legacy. This would tie him with late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and leave him one shy of Michael Jordan. However, James will turn 38 in December and is running out of opportunities.

There's a real chance that James views an Irving trade as his last, best chance to win title No. 5. James is still great, but he isn't getting any younger, while the NBA, as a whole, is.

James has already won a title with Irving. He's won one with Davis. If he's actively rooting to bring the pair together, he must believe that he can win again. And if he believes that, then he may believe that Los Angeles can go on a two- or three-year championship run with this hypothetical new Big Three.

Earlier this year, James stated that he plans to play with the Lakers for as long as he can. That could change, though, if he no longer believes that Los Angeles can win a title. This is perhaps why James is pushing so hard for Irving.

The Lakers, who have almost no cap flexibility and limited future draft capital, don't have many other options for building a contender. And if they cannot do that, James may eschew the extension he's eligible to sign in August.

Above all else, perhaps, the idea of adding Irving gives James hope. For a star who has accomplished as much as James has and still searches for motivation, hope might be enough.