Kyrie Irving is focused on future with Luka Dončić, not past with LeBron James

Kyrie Irving had just routed the LA Clippers by 30 points. His Dallas Mavericks were one win away from the Western Conference semifinals. But the question made him momentarily ponder an alternate reality. 

Did he seriously consider reuniting with LeBron James in this very building last season?

"Everything was considered," Irving told FOX Sports after Game 5 on Wednesday in Los Angeles, flashing a smile.

James is currently watching the playoffs from his couch after his Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in their first-round playoff series Monday. Surely, he could have used Irving's help.

"He's a great friend of mine, a great brother of mine," Irving told FOX Sports. "We obviously played together [in Cleveland]. Everybody knows our history. But there were so many different factors in between. When it comes to business decisions, you have to ask the GMs, the presidents why certain things didn't work out." 

After Irving requested to be traded by the floundering Brooklyn Nets in February 2023, James made his pitch.

James called it a "duh" question when asked if Irving could help transform the Lakers into a championship contender. For the four-time NBA champion, who's as media savvy as they come, that was as close as he could get to publicly lobbying for a reunion with his former Cavaliers teammate, with whom he won a championship in 2016.

The day after James made that comment, Irving was dealt to the Mavericks in a blockbuster deal, a situation that's seemingly working out for the 32-year-old guard this season, but not so much for the 39-year-old face of the league, who has been unable to claw his way back to the Finals in four years. 

"I know I can speak for myself that I'm grateful someone took a