"D'Lo and Kyrie, just swap them": LeBron James' ex-teammate makes improbable trade suggestion for Lakers-Mavericks
LeBron James played with Kyrie Irving before with the Cleveland Cavaliers while D’Angelo Russell is his teammate with the LA Lakers. The four-time MVP won a championship in 2016 with “Uncle Drew” and reached last year’s Western Conference Finals with “D-Lo.” With the trade deadline approaching, many are speculating that those two point guards could be on the move.
DeMarcus Cousins, a former teammate of James, has an interesting trade scenario that will involve both playmakers. Here’s what the former Sacramento Kings superstar had to say about what should be a headline-grabbing deal if it will go through:
“Those teams [Mavericks and Lakers] should actually make a deal together. I mean D’Lo [Russell] and Kyrie [Irving]. Just swap them out. I think it is good for Dallas. I think D’Lo gives that dynamic of that Jalen Brunson-Luka Doncic combination. I think Kyrie fits in perfectly with LeBron and AD.
Cousins' dream scenario includes the Lakers doing another trade after acquiring Irving. He wants LA to also re-acquire Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls. Getting one of Irving and Caruso will be tough. Grabbing them both before the trade deadline is quite impossible.
The trade scenario DeMarcus Cousins is proposing is something the Dallas Mavericks will not likely even sniff at. Russell has a player option next season and could walk away as a free agent as soon as he exercises that part of his contract.
Meanwhile, Irving’s player option only comes into play leading into the 2025-26 season. Dallas will not move the mercurial point guard for a few months of Russell.
The Lakers might hesitate do indulge Cousins as it will likely involve future first-round picks to get Kyrie Irving. Even with LeBron James in win-now mode, Pelinka has been unwilling to move coveted draft capital. Cousins’ proposed trade may just be a pipe dream.
LeBron James and Lakers fans are unsurprisingly all-in on DeMarcus Cousins’ trade proposal
It didn’t take long for LeBron James and LA Lakers fans to react to DeMarcus Cousins’ trade proposal. Several are hoping Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison will agree immediately with what Lakers counterpart Rob Pelinka will offer.
If that trade comes true, Darvin Ham will arguably have the best starting lineup in the NBA. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt and Kyrie Irving will be a mouthwatering combination. It might be a lineup that could finish the job the Lakers couldn’t do next season.
D’Angelo Russell was nearly unplayable in the conference finals against the Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokic ruthlessly hunted mismatches that favored any Nuggets player that “D-Lo” had to guard. LA will not have that same problem if it is “Uncle Drew” who will play point guard.
More importantly, Kyrie Irving is a proven elite performer on the biggest stage like LeBron James. It’s no surprise Lakers fans are seeing banner No. 18 go up the rafters if the Irving-Russell trade happens.