Getty Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics defends LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers put one of their biggest matters to bed this offseason. After months of speculation, superstar LeBron James has agreed to a two-year extension worth $97.1 million with the team as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski. By doing this, his contract with the Lakers won’t expire until 2025.
BREAKING: Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has agreed on a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension – including a player option for the 2024-2025 season, @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. James had been entering final year of deal worth $44.5M.
However, they’re not out of the woods yet. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, LeBron has been “privately adamant” that they improve the roster. More specifically that they go after former Boston Celtics all-star guard Kyrie Irving.
LeBron James’ decision to re-sign with the #Lakers was not without complications.
Sources tell @jovanbuha James has been privately adamant that the Lakers still need to improve the current roster – and need to trade for Kyrie Irving.
Buha added that James’ commitment to the Lakers signifies that they have assured him that they aim to build a better roster around him. That would mean trading Russell Westbrook.
Considering James’ preference to trade for Irving and his displeasure with the Lakers’ inactivity at the 2022 trade deadline, the tea leaves would suggest the Lakers indicated to James they will be more aggressive in their pursuit of improving their title chances this season, which, of course, would have to come in form of trading Westbrook.
Whether the Lakers can make that happen is another question. Although they are willing to trade the two first-round picks they have at their arsenal to the Brooklyn Nets for Irving, the Nets are not interested in taking that deal, according to Wojnarowski.
“The Lakers would be willing to do that in a Kyrie Irving trade… Myles Turner and Buddy Hield they’ve not been willing to give up two future firsts.”
However, what works in the Lakers’ favor is that the desire to reunite is reportedly mutual between James and Irving.
Kyrie Would Prefer Lakers as Next Team
Buha reported on August 3, 2022, that Irving would prefer to play for the Lakers as his next team, whether it’s via trade or free agency in 2023. Because there isn’t much interest in Irving, the Lakers would likely be his next team if he hit free agency.
All indications are that the Lakers are Irving’s top destination if he leaves Brooklyn, whether it’s via a trade between now and the February 2023 trade deadline, or in free agency next summer, when Westbrook’s salary will be off the Lakers’ books…
Considering the lack of current league-wide interest in acquiring him via trade, it seems like the Lakers are his most likely free-agent option next summer, other than the Nets.
It sounds as though, due to process of elimination, Irving is likely to be Lakers-bound one way or the other, depending on if the Nets can salvage this Kevin Durant trade situation.
With LeBron in his late-30s, it’s in the Lakers’ best interest to get Irving sooner rather than later, and they know it.
Lakers-Nets Trade Talks Date Back to July
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports revealed on July 2 that the Lakers and the Nets had discussed a deal that involved Irving and Westbrook.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets are actively engaged in trade discussions centered on a Russell Westbrook-Kyrie Irving package, league sources tell @YahooSports:
Haynes detailed that a trade would come down to both draft compensation and who else the Lakers would take back, which is where the two sides have disagreed.
Draft compensation is an ongoing talking point for the Nets and they want shooting guard Joe Harris — who is recovering from left ankle surgery — and his remaining $38.6 million owed over the next two years included in the deal, sources said.
The Lakers have been disinclined to the inclusion of Harris, and are instead seeking the insertion of sharpshooter Seth Curry as part of the arrangement, sources said.
As noted earlier, the Lakers are now willing to trade both of their remaining first-round picks for Irving, but the Nets aren’t interested in that kind of deal.
Whether a trade comes to fruition or not, it would be quite a ride to see Kyrie, who wanted to be traded away from LeBron, get traded to the Celtics only to want to go back to playing with LeBron while playing against the Celtics’ storied rival.