Getty Los Angeles Lakers GM Rob Pelinka.
The NBA offseason is heating up in a major way and Kyrie Irving appears to be the first superstar who could be on the move. The Brooklyn Nets guard is at an “impasse” with the team over a possible contract extension, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Los Angeles Lakers have emerged as a possible suitor if Irving forces his way out.
The problem is that the Lakers have no money available to sign the guard in free agency unless he’s willing to take a massive discount. If Irving wants to be in Los Angeles but doesn’t want a discount, then a trade would have to happen. The Lakers could offer up Russell Westbrook but that’s not a player the Nets would want.
However, Los Angeles goes have a play any team would want. Anthony Davis is coming off back-to-back lackluster years plagued with injuries. Despite that, he’s still one of the most talented players in the NBA. A Davis for Irving swap isn’t something the Lakers would be interested in but Fox Sports’ Nick Wright believes he has a solution.
Wright pitched that the Nets should send the Lakers Ben Simmons and Irving for Westbrook and Davis.
“I don’t think that works. I don’t think if you’re the LA Lakers, you can trade Anthony Davis for Kyrie Irving,” Wright said on “First Things First.” “So I said to Colin [Cowherd], ‘the Nets would have to give up more.’ So I was like, ‘What is the more?’ Then I said, ‘Wait. What about the biggest, most blockbuster NBA trade ever?'”
Wright then explained how the trade could work for both sides.
“If you’re the Lakers, Ben Simmons can play center. LeBron and Kyrie are reunited,” he said. “If you’re the Nets and you want to see if it can work with Russ, if there’s any team that has enough shooting, it’s the team that has Seth [Curry], Joe Harris, Patty Mills and Kevin Durant.”
AD and Russ for Kyrie and Ben Simmons?! 👀
“Simmons can play center, Kyrie and LeBron are reunited, and Russ and KD are reunited. That’s a trade I think both teams have an all hands on deck meeting for. Both teams need to shake the damn snow globe.” — @getnickwright
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Wright Says Both Teams Would Need to Consider Deal
Out of the four players involved in this trade proposal, Davis is the best. He’s elite on both sides of the court and is only 29. His injuries are concerning but everybody involved in this proposal has some sort of red flag. While the Lakers don’t appear to have any interest in moving on from Davis, Wright believes that both teams should at least have meetings about this possible trade.
“That is a trade that I think both teams have an ‘All hands on deck’ meeting for,” Wright said. “Our second and third-best player for your second and third-best player. Let’s see if we can shake the snow globe because, as presently constituted, both teams need to shake the damn snow globe.”
Is Irving Really Interested in the Lakers?
Irving is an enigmatic player so it’s difficult to know exactly what’s going on in his head. This whole media curfuffle could simply be a negotiating tactic. However, Sam Amick of The Atheltic is reporting that there could be some truth to noise.
“The Lakers noise, again, really tough to pull off, but it’s somewhat substantive there,” Amick said. “You’ve got people within the league actually thinking like, ‘Man, I think he might find a way to get back with LeBron,’ and I do get the sense that LeBron would open that door, and we’ll see if they can pull it off.”
Anything is possible with Irving and the Lakers but it’s still hard to see a path where the two sides team up.
Kyrie Irving to the Lakers chatter is “somewhat substantive,” according to @sam_amick.
“You’ve got people within the league actually thinking … ‘Man, I think he might find a way to get back with LeBron.'”
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