Tristan Thompson: Kyrie Irving Trade Would Get 'Lakers Back to the Promised Land'

A former teammate of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving believes a reunion between the two would make the Los Angeles Lakers a championship contender.

Appearing on This Just In, ESPN NBA analyst Tristan Thompson said acquiring Irving would get "the Lakers back to the promised land."

Even though it seemed like things were going well between Irving and the Brooklyn Nets after the star's early-season suspension, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Friday the eight-time All-Star asked that he be traded ahead of next Thursday's deadline or he will leave as a free agent this summer.

Charania added on The Pat McAfee Show that Irving's camp was unhappy when the Nets tried to include stipulations in a contract extension that the sides were discussing within the past week.

As soon as Irving's trade request was made public, the Lakers immediately stood out as a potential landing spot.

When Irving went through his standoff with the Nets about an extension last summer and he gave them a list of clubs to consider for a sign-and-trade, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Lakers were the only team showing interest in acquiring him.

There could be some sense of desperation for the Lakers to bring in another star alongside James and Anthony Davis. They both rank in the top 11 in ESPN's player efficiency rating metric this season, yet the Lakers are 12th in the Western Conference with a 25-28 record.

James and Irving know each other well from their three seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014-15 to 2016-17. They won an NBA title together during the 2015-16 campaign.

Their partnership did break up in August 2017 after Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics. He requested a trade from the Cavs because he didn't want to play with James, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

Six years later, James and Irving might need each other given how things are playing out with their current teams.