Los Angeles Lakers: Reasons why Kyrie Irving, LeBron James should be reunited

1. Irving would give them an elite point guard

This is the obvious one, right?

The Lakers figured they were getting an elite point guard in Ball when they originally drafted him, but that hasn’t quite been the case. To win in this league, it’s almost required to have a top-tier floor general. While Ball may eventually fall into that category, Irving has already gotten cozy in it.

Even before he landed with the Boston Celtics, he was a superstar. During his six seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Irving averaged 21.6 points, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

In that time, he was named an All-Star four times while creating a name for himself as one of the league’s best ballhandlers and creators.

Fast forward to today – Irving has again established himself as an unstoppable force with the Celtics. Over the last two seasons, he’s averaged 24.1 points, 5.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Better yet, he’s seen an uptick in his true shooting percentage, box plus/minus and PER despite similar usage rates.

The point I’m trying to make here is that Irving is like a fine wine – he’s getting better with age (you know how the King feels about his vino).

While you can try to say his improvement is a result of playing outside of LeBron’s shadow, I tend to believe it’s more a matter of maturity and growth as a player and person. The move to Boston may have kickstarted that process, but it doesn’t mean a reunion with James would be a setback.

It’s time for the Lakers to find themselves an elite point guard. Ball may not be the solution, but Irving certainly fits the bill as a potential game-changer for Los Angeles.