Getty Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Although he has opted into the final year of his contract with the franchise, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has been in trade talks since the opening of NBA free agency. One team that has been tied to him is the Los Angeles Lakers. NBA Insider Chris B. Haynes of “Yahoo Sports” recently reported the Nets and Lakers had preliminary discussions on a trade that would send Irving to the Lakers and Russell Westbrook to the Nets.
Of course, Irving getting traded to the Lakers would reunite him with his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate LeBron James, with whom he won the lone title of his career in 2016. Despite being a multi-time All-Star, his lack of availability over the past three seasons has made Kyrie a leper on the trade market, as the Lakers are the only team who have an interest in him.
During an appearance on PIX 11 on Sunday, July 10, NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bally Sports said the Lakers are interested in trading for the Nets star. However they are unwilling to include their superstar big man Anthony Davis as part of the deal.
“Kyrie Irving and his representation, they did list five teams that would be on the board for him to potentially go to. I know everybody talks about the Lakers,” Robinson said.
”The Lakers don’t want to give up Anthony Davis. The Lakers want to give up Russell Westbrook. But you got to kind of include some picks”
Video of @ScoopB talking about the current state of 7/11.
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Clippers a Potential Destination for Kyrie
If the Nets and Lakers cannot work together to agree to the terms of a Kyrie trade, the star point guard could still go to Los Angeles, to the Lakers’ inner-city rival, the Los Angeles Clippers. Over the weekend at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Irving was seated near Clippers owner Steve Balmer and general manager Jerry West.
@a2thebeezy @KDTrey5 @KyrieIrving He was sitting next to Jerry West & Steve Balmer who are the GM & owner of the LA Clipper lol … bro Fr where do you get your info from?!?!
Robinson notes that Kyrie’s relationship with his former coach and current Clippers head coach Ty Lue is even more of a reason they could be a potential destination.
“The Lakers make sense, but so do the Los Angeles Clippers, particularly because Kyrie Irving’s relationship with Ty Lue wasn’t as soured as I’ve learned from sources close to Irving. He and Ty Lue have repaired that relationship,” Robinson said.
“He won a championship with Ty Lue and LeBron James. It’s a new chapter. But from everyone that I’ve spoken to, the Lakers situation is either the Lakers are not matching what the Nets want, or the Lakers want Kyrie more than the Nets want to give them up.”
Kyrie, Durant Trade Talks at an Impasse
When the news of Kevin Durant requesting a trade from the Nets hit the news wire just hours before free agency, many people believed that was the first domino to fall in what was going to be a rebuild in Brooklyn. The widespread belief was that if Kevin Durant was made available in a potential trade, then nobody was safe.
But much of the speculation about the Nets’ future has just been smoke and mirrors. There have been discussions, but no traction on any potential deals for either star. With the market for a Kyrie trade being Lakers or bust and the Nets wanting a king’s ransom package in any deals for Durant, talks have come to a standstill. T
he best option for both parties seems to be a reconciliation for both stars to remain in Brooklyn this season.
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