After reports emerged that Kyrie Irving was at an impasse with the Brooklyn Nets in terms of negotiating a new deal, the Los Angeles Lakers immediately popped up as a potential suitor for the enigmatic point guard. As it turns out, however, the prospect of a reunion with LeBron James appears unlikely for Kyrie.

According to NBA insider Keith Smith, a proposed move to the Lakers (or the Los Angeles Clippers, for that matter), could prove difficult for the Nets superstar:

If the Lakers or Clippers want to acquire Kyrie Irving, they need him to opt in and get traded there vs opting out and going there via sign-and-trade. It's not impossible, but it's pretty close for either the Lakers or Clippers to acquire Irving via S&T due to hard cap reasons.

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Kyrie has one more year remaining on his current deal with the Nets. If he opts into his player option for next season, he's going to earn $36.5 million. That's a whole lot of money, and the Lakers will have a tough time trying to make this work given their current salary cap situation. Moreover, the Lakers also don't have many assets at their disposal for a potential trade deal with Brooklyn.

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Then again, as they always say, if there's a will, there should be a way. If Irving really wants to reunite with LeBron in LA — and assuming the Lakers are willing to move mountains to make this happen — then at the end of the day, it would not be impossible.