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The Los Angeles Lakers aren't going to want Luka Doncic to walk, and they actually have a benefit they could use to keep him.

The offseason will offer the Los Angeles Lakers a chance to reflect and an opportunity to work on those reflections. The franchise’s season ended in the second round of the playoffs.

Now, the front office has swung its attention towards bolstering the roster. There have been several links.

According to sportswriter Brandon Robinson, one has involved a potential reunion for Luka Doncic. 

Wrote @Fullcourtpass on X: “The Lakers have quietly weighed the pros and cons of re-pairing Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving if LeBron James decides to leave, per @ScoopB.”

Doncic and Irving were teammates at the Dallas Mavericks before a blockbuster trade that sent the Slovenian superstar to L.A.

James will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, which will be one of the events that will shape the front office’s decision in the trade market. It is the first time since he joined that the 41-year-old superstar will hit the open market.

A Potential Reunion Between Stars on the Lakers?

GettyKyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks defends against Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers.

In Dallas, the Doncic-Irving duo proved to be one of the most efficient backcourt duos in the league. The signs started to show when Irving joined the Mavericks in 2023 before the trade deadline. 

In their first full season together, Doncic and Irving spearheaded the Mavs to an NBA Finals appearance. Irving displayed one of the best versions of himself and seemed to tackle his injury woes he experienced playing for the Brooklyn Nets to some extent. 

Such chemistry is hard to come by these days in the NBA and the Lakers had their fair share of chemistry issues during the season. The roster eventually found a way to sync but early on, with Doncic, Auston Reaves and James all high usage players, they were out of sync in many games. 

Irving has already played with Doncic and together, they can implement their Mavericks era for the Lakers.

Of course, it has to imply that Dallas would be willing to do another big business deal with L.A.

Is Another Deal With Dallas Feasible?

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesRob Pelinka, Los Angeles Lakers general manager

The last time Dallas and Los Angeles made a trade, it was when Doncic was moved and Anthony Davis moved the other way.

Seeing how things have played out, it looked like the Mavs were out of luck with their choice of player exchange. Davis only played 29 games for the franchise before being traded to the Washington Wizards.

It is hard to imagine the Mavericks following through with another deal with the Lakers. But if a deal is on the table, they may look to gain some assets from the Lakers.

Irving is on a three-year, $119 million extension he signed last offseason. He has a player-option in the final year as well. The Lakers would likely need to execute a sign-and-trade or direct trade involving assets like Reaves to make salaries match, given their cap position. 

James’ position is still unclear but he still commands a respectable salary. If he leaves, it can clear cap space but the Lakers will still need to find pieces to surround Doncic.

The biggest issues with an Irving trade are financial and worries about durability.

Irving looked to have found some consistency in Dallas before missing the entire 2025-26 season with a torn ACL. At 34 years old, durability concerns will persist.