LeBron James admits he’s ‘disappointed’ the Lakers couldn’t get Kyrie Irving from the Nets

LeBron James was hoping for a Lakers reunion with fellow Cleveland Cavaliers champion teammate Kyrie Irving, but that isn’t happening.

Irving demanded a trade away from the Brooklyn Nets last week and got his wish on Sunday – with the Nets sending the point guard to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and picks.

LeBron sat down with ESPN’s Michael Wilbon after the trade was announced and shared his feeling on the inability to get a deal done. 

‘Well, definitely disappointed. I can’t sit here and say I’m not disappointed on not being able to land such a talent,’ James told Wilbon. 

‘Someone I had great chemistry with, I know I got great chemistry with on the floor, that can help you win championships in my mind, in my eyes. 

‘But my focus has shifted now, my focus has shifted back to where it should be and that’s this club now, and what we have in the locker room.’

After Wilbon commented that LeBron made a quick turnaround in his mentality, James responded that he’s focused on the rest of the season. 

‘It don’t take me long. I don’t get too excited about the possibilities of things that can be,’ James replied.

‘I kinda envision myself on what it can, but I don’t invest it all the way until I know what’s happening. And when it does not happen, I’m back locked in on the job at hand.

‘So you know we had an opportunity. Our names was out there, the Lakers’ names was out there. 

‘We had an opportunity, didn’t happen, we move on and we finish this season strong. Try to get a bid into the postseason where I feel [when] we’re going in healthy, we can compete with anybody.’

LeBron and Kyrie have been separated since 2017, but seem to remain close friends

The pair of former Cavaliers have been separated since 2017 – when Irving reportedly wanted to be the focal point of his own team.

He was traded to Boston, where he spent two seasons leading the Celtics to the playoffs and dealing with a series of injuries.

After saying that he planned on returning to Boston ‘if you guys will have me back’, Irving spurned the Celtics for the Nets.

Since then, a series of controversies – ranging from vaccine skepticism and outright refusal to get the jab, to co-signing antisemitism through his Instagram story, to refusal to play and absences for long stretches of time and over good chunks of the season – have defined Irving’s legacy in Brooklyn.

Despite LeBron’s hopes for a reunion, the Nets seemed set to avoid a deal with the Lakers – with reports saying Nets owner Joe Tsai was trying to prevent re-joining the stars.

Nets owner Joe Tsai made sure that a reunion of the 2016 championship stars didn’t happen