Kyrie Irving sitting courtside again at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets broth forth a new round of trade rumors linking the Dallas Mavericks superstar to a potential summer move to Hollywood. This isn't the first time Kyrie made an appearance during a Lakers playoff game, and it has unsurprisingly led to fans calling for a potential LeBron James-Kyrie Irving reunion in LA.
If you ask LeBron and Lakers superfan Shannon Sharpe, however, he has made it abundantly clear that he doesn't believe a Kyrie blockbuster trade deal would benefit LA. The Fox Sports host conceded that Irving is a generational talent, but at the same time, he believes that the pieces just won't work:
“I would rather keep Rui (Hachimura) and Austin Reaves,” Sharpe said. “You're already top-heavy. You're gonna become even more top-heavy. And we've seen this triumvirate not work.”
“… I know Kyrie is sensational, he's a phenomenal talent, but I’m not giving up Austin Reaves. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not. I’m just not gonna do it.”
"Kyrie [Irving] is sensational, he's a phenomenal talent, but I’m not giving up Austin Reaves… I’m just not gonna do it."
Shannon Sharpe on seeing Kyrie as a member of the Lakers.
(via @undisputed)pic.twitter.com/emYn15vLy8
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 23, 2023
Obviously, Shannon Sharpe is a huge fan of Austin Reaves. He also believes that a Kyrie Irving trade would pretty much mark the end of Reaves' tenure in LA. In his mind, Sharpe would much rather roll with Reaves next season as opposed to the Lakers bringing in Kyrie.
With regard to Austin Reaves, however, it's not guaranteed that he will be back in 2023-24. Although he's already indicated on multiple occasions that he intends to remain in LA, until he puts pen to paper on a contract extension, anything can still happen.
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