Report: Kyrie Irving will meet with Lakers in free agency

Kyrie Irving will entertain the idea of a reunion with LeBron James this summer, according to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.

"I'm told Kyrie Irving will grant the Lakers an interview this offseason, this summer," Smith said on his radio show. "The Lakers will have an opportunity to get Kyrie Irving to come to L.A. I did not say he's coming to L.A., I did not say that.

"I don't know what he's going to do, but during his free-agent tour, I'm told he going to give the Lakers an interview."

Irving and James went to three NBA Finals together as the Cavaliers' one-two punch -- and even won a title in 2016 -- before the relationship fell apart and ended with Irving demanding a trade out of Cleveland. But the two seem to have made up this past year, with Irving first calling James to apologize for how he acted during their time in Cleveland, and with the two looking every bit like the BFFs they were in The Land during their weekend together at the 2019 NBA All-Star Game.

Now before you panic, it should be noted that Smith has been wrong on the interview front before. It was just a year ago that Smith said that LeBron James would meet with the Celtics. As far as we know, that did not happen, and James seemingly made an easy transition from Cleveland to Los Angeles without a series of pitches from the teams Smith had mentioned.

Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, meanwhile, held an impromptu press conference and announced that he was stepping down from his position on Tuesday night.

It's worth wondering if that will have any sort of impact on Irving's reported interest.

Nevertheless, you can the Lakers to a list of interested teams already believed to include the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. Irving's current team, the Celtics, are obviously interested in keeping the 6-foot-3 point guard in town, too.

Irving and the Celtics, will open up their 2019 playoff run against the Indiana Pacers this weekend.