What are the three best teams for Kyrie Irving? Taking a closer look

Modified Jun 30, 2023 14:16 GMT

Kyrie Irving is the hottest name in the 2023 NBA Free Agency, which starts at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 30.

The superstar guard is expected to attract significant interest from contending teams, as he seeks a lucrative, multi-year deal. A return to the Dallas Mavericks seems the most likely scenario, but the 31-year-old will listen to offers before making his decision.

With that in mind, we take a look at three teams that would be the best destinations for Kyrie Irving.

#3 - Phoenix Suns

According to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, Kyrie Irving will meet with the Phoenix Suns once free agency opens. This blockbuster news certainly shook the NBA world, as the Suns look like a great destination for the All-Star guard.

After signing Bradley Beal, Phoenix is chasing another superstar as it is in a win-now mode and want to create a superteam. Under the new CBA rules, it will be impossible to bring Irving on a max deal, but a sign-and-trade deal featuring Deandre Ayton would make things work.

Joining the Suns would offer Kyrie Irving a golden opportunity to chase his second NBA championship after 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On paper, a team of Irving, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Beal looks absolutely incredible, with an incredible firepower on offense. However, in practice, super teams rarely succeed, especially when their roster is unbalanced.

Hence, the Suns have a lot of bench issues to solve, but adding Kyrie Irving would help them create one of the most dominant teams in the league.

#2 - LA Lakers

The LA Lakers are a great fit for Kyrie Irving. Playing alongside LeBron James helped Irving win his sole NBA title and his game complements James' perfectly. Both have been vocal about their desire to reunite, and adding the point guard would solve major problems for the Lakers, James and Irving.

Kyrie Irving would get the opportunity to play for a title contender and the Lakers would create another BIg Three with James and Anthony Davis. Such a move will convince LeBron James to silence any talks of retirement, as he would be in a position to challenge for his fifth NBA championship.

The franchise has prioritized keeping Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, but this wouldn't be a problem if it wanted to land Irving and create a superteam.

#1 - Dallas Mavericks

Staying with the Dallas Mavericks makes sense for Kyrie Irving given the numbers he put up last year. Playing alongside Luka Doncic spaces the floor for him offensively and allows him to focus only on scoring. Doncic can also handle all facilitating duties.

Doncic and Irving played very few times together and the experiment failed, as the Mavs were in a free fall in the last part of the season and missed the playoffs.

However, a full season together could help the superstar duo build chemistry and make the project work. In the likely scenario where they re-sign Irving, the Mavs should bring defensive specialists to the roster, as Dallas struggled mightly defensively last year. However, the Mavs have an opportunity to create a winning team and they should not let this slip away.

"Kyrie Irving is trying to create a market out there," Adrian Wojnarowski said. "It may just not be there for him. Certainly, Dallas, I think, is going to try to show some restraint, some discipline on what they're going to offer Kyrie Irving with a new deal in Dallas. It's going to be more than anybody else can offer him.

"I think he's going to try to spend some time here trying to manufacture a marketplace of salary cap space and teams that might actually scare Dallas into thinking they have to up their offer. I'm not sure that's happening. That will be an interesting process as it plays out. I still think Kyrie Irving inevitably will return back to Dallas on a deal to play with Luka Doncic."

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reported that Irving seeks to find a team he considers "home" and could finish the rest of his NBA career playing for. A long-term contract would keep him signed through the remainder of the prime of his playing career, maximizing the opportunity to contend for a title.

"Now, what's important to Kyrie Irving? From what I'm told, he wants to find a place where he can spend the rest of his career as a place that feels like home," Shelburne said. "And that's an interesting thing for a guy like Kyrie who's approaching a free agency where it's not really a lock for him to get that five-year max that the Dallas Mavericks are in a position to give him."

Overall, with Irving set to start listening to offers Friday, expect the Mavs and the Lakers to be frontrunners to sign him on multi-year deals.