Lakers: LeBron James Really Wants To Play With Kyrie Irving in LA [RUMOR]

Kyrie Irving's days with the Brooklyn Nets seem to be numbered, and the Los Angeles Lakers are the front-runners in the race to sign him.

Before free agency started, Irving entered the last year of his contract after failing to locate a partner to accomplish a sign-and-trade. However, the Nets seem to be negotiating a deal for Irving, too, now that superstar forward Kevin Durant has asked to be traded, per Fox Sports.

Given the situation, LeBron James is rooting hard for the Lakers to acquire Kyrie Irving, as per NBA Insider Marc Stein.

History says that James and Irving had great chemistry on the court when they led the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the 2016 NBA Championship. But eventually, their relationship as teammates turned bad, resulting in Irving's decision to move to the Boston Celtics. Recently, the superstar guard stated that he regretted his dispute with "The King" that caused the breakdown of the championship-caliber Cavs.

In an episode of the I AM ATHLETE podcast in May, Kyrie mentioned that he and LeBron "didn't talk" during their feud.

"Again, when I look back on what I was going through at that time, I wish I did, because it would've been a mutual understanding of what the future will hold for both of us, and we know how much power we both had together," he said.

Lakers Have Yet To Be Aggressive

According to an update from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the trade talks between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets indicate no significant progress in establishing an agreeable deal to make the Kyrie Irving trade possible.

Woj said: "Unlike Kevin Durant, there are a limited number of teams where it would make sense (to trade for Kyrie). I do think there are going to be teams that would like to do a deal for him. It would be different from the sign-and-trade he tried to get. That is where teams would have had to sign him for multiple years. He is on an expiring contract and teams that just need to improve their talent and can take some risk with Kyrie Irving."

The sports analyst also reported that the Lakers "have yet" to be "aggressive" in its attempts to make a deal to acquire Irving from the Nets, per Fadeaway World.

"That may come, that may evolve with time. But so far right now, there's no traction really on deals with either Irving or Durant," Woj noted.

Two Other Teams Want To Sign Kyrie Irving

Aside from the Lakers, two other teams are interested in Kyrie Irving, according to a report from Fansided. The Dallas Mavericks and Philadelphia 76ers are reported to express their interest in signing the seven-time All-Star per a report from Shams Charania.

Given that the Mavs have lost guard Jalen Brunson in free agency to the New York Knicks, it is a given that they are pursuing acquiring Kyrie Irving in their lineup.

What is intriguing, though, is the Sixers' interest in Irving only because James Harden is anticipated to re-sign with the team. One may wonder if the Kyrie factor somehow influences Harden's move.

The Sixers' interest in Kyrie might be a complicated story. But the decision was likely agreed upon by the team's superstars, Harden and Joel Embid.