data-mm-id=”_m9ohx59dn”>The blissful radio silence about Kyrie Irving's future came to a rather abrupt end on Monday. The problematic point guard hasn't played a game in more than a month after he got shut down near the end of the season so the Dallas Mavericks could maneuver their way out of the play-in tournament and into the lottery. Brian Windhorst has been talking about Irving's impending free agency for the last two days and broke down how the Los Angeles Lakers, specifically, could land Irving without giving up Austin Reaves on his podcast yesterday. Brian Windhorst on "The Hoop Collective" podcast discussing Mavericks' impending free agent Kyrie Irving as a Lakers target:"It would take a little bit of maneuvering, and Kyrie [Irving] would probably have to not take the max, or [the Lakers] would have to work on something… pic.twitter.com/hXRiko5FgC— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) May 21, 2023This landed him an ESPN hit on Monday that was used for more content later in the slate. .@WindhorstESPN says there's a possibility the Lakers could go after Kyrie Irving and reunite with LeBron 👀 pic.twitter.com/IaoMPwdTNE— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 22, 2023Just pretend for a second that the playoffs are over and that's why we're talking about him instead of Jimmy Butler or Nikola Jokic. Here's Stephen A. Smith explaining why the Lakers have to do it. Shockingly, Smith did not pull out his favorite buzzword to describe Irving — "box office." But the sentiment remains. .@stephenasmith thinks the Lakers should try to pursue Kyrie this offseason 👀 pic.twitter.com/V0iHTwHSMi— First Take (@FirstTake) May 22, 2023As Windhorst notes, it is quite unlikely that Irving would be willing to take a pay cut and that makes things mighty difficult for Los Angeles. The Lakers could theoretically gut their entire team to get Irving and that sure sounds like something the franchise would do. But it would be proof LA didn't learn a damn thing from the Russell Westbrook debacle and would be a bad sign for anybody hoping LeBron James could lead one more championship run before he rides off into the sunset to play with Bronny in Orlando or something. The blueprint for good James teams has been around for a while now. Get the man players who can defend and shoot at reasonable levels and you're in a good spot. Not even high levels, just reasonable levels. That sounds obvious because all teams are looking for players who can shoot and defend but it apparently is not that obvious to the Lakers, who had that type of players, won a championship, and then traded them all for a guy who couldn't do either of those things. Irving can shoot but checks no other boxes. He's not reliable, either, which is an increasingly important attribute for a LeBron sidekick to have. He would cost an enormous amount of money, is prone to getting himself into trouble off the court, and clearly isn't that great of a teammate after he ditched Kevin Durant of all people because the front office made him mad. But he is Kyrie Irving. Box office. His dribble moves are made for the bright lights of LA. Ditching good role players who helped the Lakers go further than they deserved in this year's playoffs to get Irving is precisely the sort of thing the Lakers have always done. And it often pays off. But they have a very recent example of it not working out and that should be enough to kill all Irving discussion. We're still going to talk about it because everyone in NBA media loves to discuss the idea of a LeBron/Kyrie reunion. But if the Lakers actually do it, they doom themselves to the same cycle of misery everybody who employs Irving goes through, while also screwing themselves out of the last few good years of LeBron's career. For all that to happen less than six months after trading Westbrook would showcase an utterly astounding lack of awareness/ability to learn from mistakes. Put together a good basketball team or pay Kyrie Irving to play half the year while he causes immense problems for the NBA and the Lakers? Decisions, decisions for Rob Pelinka.
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In what could prove to be a lively affair from Coopers Stadium on Friday morning, Adelaide will host Melbourne City when this weekend s A-League fixtures get underway.
Starting with the hosts, mounting a dramatic late comeback away at Melbourne Victory last weekend as they eventually snatched a 1-1 draw, Adelaide are enjoying what has been an eye-catching flurry. Currently sat with just their goal difference keeping them from breaking into the AFC Champions League spots, Carl Veart s side are now unbeaten in each of their last seven A-League appearances a run that stems all the way back to January 6th. Putting in what was a remarkable display a fortnight ago as they played out a 4-4 draw at home against Western Sydney, the…
Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brothers are among a new set of minority investors to acquire a stake in Major League Soccer side Nashville SC.
The two-time NBA MVP, alongside his Milwaukee Bucks team-mate Thanasis and other siblings Kostas and Alex, are the latest sports stars to buy into an MLS outfit.
The terms of the stake acquired by the quartet, who are joined by Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg in becoming investors into the Tennessee franchise, has not been disclosed.
In a statement, Giannis confirmed his excitement to come on board with the team, who finished fifth in the Western Conference last season before a first-round playoff exit to LA Galaxy in the MLS Cup.
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Numerous clubs were mentioned to be interested in the Senegalese centre-back, with Manchester United the most prominent of them. The Devils are in desperate need of a centre-back for some time now and in Koulibaly, they would get a world class player. However, the player does not seem to want to go to England right now.
Why? I grew up in this league. It s the league that made me the player …
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Gourvennec departed on Thursday following a 2-0 defeat at home to Caen Bordeaux s seventh loss in their last eight matches in all competitions with Eric Bedouet put in temporary charge.
Toulalan, a two-time Ligue 1 champion with Lyon, signed for Bordeaux at the end of his Monaco contract in June 2016.
The 34-year-old requested an early end to his Bordeaux deal following Gourvennec s exit, with the club agreeing to let him leave.
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The image which will remain o…
Miralem Pjanic is hoping to bring more success to Italian champions Juventus after completing his switch from Serie A rivals Roma.
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The Bosnia-Herzegovina international scored 10 goals and contributed eight assists in 2015-16, helping Roma to a third-place finish.
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It’s always tough to play here against such a great side and a massive club, Pjanic told the club s official YouTube channel inside Juventus Stadium.
There s a different atmosphere to other stadiums, this is a wonderful stadium.
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We could put a little accent on attack, or play in a more defensive way.
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Antoine Griezmann will leave Atletico Madrid this summer and Barcelona are prime favourites to get him. A release clause of 125 million euros needs to be activated for that to happen and Blaugrana seem eager to do so. But Xavi Hernandez, the club legend, has a different point of view. Former Barcelona player says that he could see this potential transfer doing more harm than good for his old club.
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