Getty LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers
The rumors of a looming trade between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers continue as we enter the early days of the Las Vegas Summer League. The trade of course, consists of the possible Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook swap or possible three-team deal. No player is hoping the Lakers can facilitate a trade for the disgruntled Irving, than LeBron James. Marc Stein has already reported that James “wants to see Irving in Lakerland more than anyone.”
The Lakers organization has been hesitant to have advanced talks for Irving, not wanting to give up to much for the star and drama that follows him. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst shared that LeBron has different feelings than the Laker front office.
“I can’t articulate how little LeBron cares about the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick. He could not care less about it. … He wants to win tonight and Kyrie Irving gives him a chance to win tonight. We are in a moment right now where teams are pushing back against player empowerment. … Now the Lakers are staring at this. Are they honestly going to push back on LeBron James if he’s sitting there with the pen ready to sign an extension making sure the Lakers remain highly relevant and a championship contender for the next two years?” Windorst said.
The latest reports from Marc Stein show an added pressure from James in regards to finalizing a deal for the Nets All-Star point guard.
LeBron’s Stance on Irving Trade
Stein wrote on his recent Substack article, that Westbrook is aware that James wants him swapped with Kyrie Irving, and that LeBron isn’t the only one hoping for that deal.
“You can safely presume that Westbrook is aware of James’ stance. He surely knows, no matter what Ham says, that the other two starry prongs in last season’s ill-fated Big Three — James and Anthony Davis — are eager for a trade to materialize that essentially swaps Westbrook for Irving, even though both campaigned for the Lakers to acquire Westbrook from Washington last summer despite Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka’s advanced talks with Sacramento on a deal headlined by perimeter shooting specialist Buddy Hield.” Stein wrote.
Both sides have reason to be frustrated with the negotiation status. As Stein wrote, the Lakers made a Westbrook trade largely due to the endorsement from James and Anthony Davis and now a season later want him and his nearly $50 million contract traded away. LeBron’s frustration makes sense as well because the Lakers have the opportunity to add Irving at an incredibly low cost when you factor in him being a generational talent. They would be able to acquire him with Westbrook, whose days in L.A. already seemed numbered.
James is also up for extension in the next month of which Stein reminded he could use as leverage to help an Irving deal get done.
“This is more reminder than reporting: LeBron becomes eligible for a two-year contract extension in the $100 million range on Aug. 4. That’s less than a month away and those talks could (stress: could) be influenced by the state of the Lakers’ roster (or inject the Irving pursuit with some fresh urgency).” Stein continued.
Possible Three-Team Deal
Stein also reported that the Nets have no interest in acquiring Westbrook and his contract in a Kyrie deal. The two teams could look to a third team to help a deal get done and one interesting team rumored has been the San Antonio Spurs as they continue their rebuild. After waiving Danilo Gallinari the team has the space to take on the Westbrook deal, and some rumors have even had the Western Conference team adding Jakob Poeltl to the deal.