If Lakers land Kyrie Irving, will LeBron James put off retirement?

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LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers getting swept in the Western Conference Finals was a fascinating story on its own.

But James shook the NBA world to its core when he revealed after Game 4 that he would consider retiring from basketball after completing his 20th season.

“Moving forward with the game of basketball,” he said during his postgame press conference, “I’ve got a lot on my mind.

After the dates, ESPN reached out to James for more details, and his conversation with a reporter was as follows:

The fact that James is matched thinking this comes as a shock to most, as he has long said he would like to play in the NBA with his son Bronny, who will be eligible for the draft after the upcoming college season. Could he actually walk away from the game in the offseason?

Colin Cowherd says no, and his reason has to do with a special guest who sat courtside during Monday’s game.

“The reason he wasn’t at Crypto last night: Kyrie Irving,” Cowherd said Tuesday on “The Herd.”

“… Kyrie Irving provides what the Lakers really need. They don’t need defense, and he doesn’t play it. What they need is a ball handler, a 3-point shooter. And he and Austin Reaves can run the offense when LeBron sitting out or missing a game If I told you next year: Kyrie Irving, Austin Reaves, LeBron, Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura… Move over D’Angelo Russell, [Jarred] Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, go get a rotational shooter off the bench.

“LeBron, AD and Kyrie, you kind of cross your fingers for health. None of them will probably play more than 60 games, but we just saw LeBron have a good playoff run and Anthony Davis had a very strong, healthy playoff run .… You will have a lot of buzz and a lot of wins. Both [Irving] is booted by: needs the ball all the time. It’s okay, LeBron will miss 30 games. [Also], well, he doesn’t play any defense. That’s right, Anthony Davis in town, Rui, you’ve got length and rim protectors. … They lost to Denver by six points, five points and two points. You can definitely talk about Kyrie. … He wasn’t going to be the backbone of the franchise. AD would be your big defensive player. LeBron would be your leader.”

James’ retirement is a real possibility according to “The King” himself. But Irving in purple and gold could come to fruition, too. One thing’s for sure: This will be an offseason unlike any we’ve seen in LeBron James’ storied career.