Getty Lakers star LeBron James
There are a lot of questions swirling around the Brooklyn Nets and their star guard Kyrie Irving regarding his future for the team.
After missing much of the previous season and then being swept in the playoffs, there’s a chance the team could look much different going into the next season. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Irving and the Nets have reached an impasse, and that could lead to his eventual departure.
Shortly after, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski revealed a list of teams Irving would consider going to, and that included the Knicks, Mavericks, Clippers, Lakers, Sixers and Heat.
ESPN Sources: If Kyrie Irving can’t reach an agreement to stay with Brooklyn, he has a list of teams he’d like them to consider on sign-and-trades, including Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Heat, Mavs and 76ers. None of those teams have cap space to sign him without Nets’ help.
Fast forward to June 27, and The Athletic’s Sam Amick reports Irving is trying to find himself on the Lakers, and the other options could be noise.
Irving & LeBron Together Again?
GettyKyrie Irving.
It’s no secret that James and Irving have been talking behind the scenes, and the rumblings are now getting louder about a potential reunion.
In a conversation between The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, Sam Amick and Alex Schiffer, Amick reveals Irving’s thinking.
“Joe, there are sources very close to the situation who strongly believe Irving is trying to make his way to the Lakers here and everything else is just (necessary) noise,” he wrote. “The sense I get is that James is very open to the idea, but the dynamics are somewhat delicate too.”
Is there anything Kyrie Irving could do to salvage his reputation among NBA fans? It starts with signing with the Lakers, on the cheap. @sam_amick, @Alex__Schiffer and I break it down, @TheAthleticNBA
Getting Irving to Los Angeles could be as simple as Irving opting out of his deal and signing with the Lakers for $6 million.
If he came over in a trade, then things would get a bit more complicated as Russell Westbrook is in LA with a huge contract.
“There’s a guy named Russell Westbrook who is still a part of the Lakers’ plans and who has a player option deadline of his own (worth $47.1 million) that everyone assumes he’ll be picking up by the Wednesday deadline,” said Amick. “The Lakers can’t afford to make an already-sensitive situation even worse by acting as if he’s about to be replaced by Irving. Especially if it’s not actually going to happen.”
A Westbrook for Irving trade likely doesn’t have a lot of value to it on its own, despite the fact that Durant and Westbrook starred together in Oklahoma City.
A Different Reunion?
GettyLakers guard Russell Westbrook
Any Thunder fans out there hoping for a reunion of Westbrook and Durant shouldn’t get their hopes up.
“Most folks around the league assume the Nets would have no interest in facilitating a Westbrook-Durant reunion, but there are others who believe that may be the best of the bad options in front of them,” said Amick.”
This doesn’t mean it can’t happen, but it would be unlikely, especially when you consider the fact Ben Simmons is going to be back next season. Having Westbrook and Simmons together in the lineup would create a spacing nightmare, and the Nets would like to avoid that if they can.
At this point in time, there’s no telling how the offseason will play out, but there will definitely be some fireworks in the Kyrie Irving saga going forward.
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