Getty Russell Westbrook (No. 0) of the Lakers
It was not long ago—a little more than a month, really—that the Lakers and Kyrie Irving appeared to be on an NBA collision course, with Irving supposedly so eager to go to Los Angeles and reunite with old teammate LeBron James that he would give up about $30 million to sign a midlevel contract with L.A.
The heat around that deal cooled, though, when Irving instead chose to opt into the final year of his Nets deal (worth $36 million) and later was reported to be content with his situation in Brooklyn. With the Nets front office preoccupied with the ongoing Kevin Durant, talk of an Irving deal was shelved.
But now comes a report from the New York Daily News that the Lakers would be willing to up their offer for Irving, sending out not only Russell Westbrook but also two first-round picks, in 2027 and 2029. The Lakers could also add Talen Horton-Tucker with L.A. taking back a shooter, either Seth Curry (the Lakers’ reported preference) or Joe Harris (the Nets’ preference).
Such a deal would require the Nets to also move out Durant, or to find a third team to take on Westbrook, who has a long and rocky history with Durant going back to their days as teammates with the Thunder, from 2007-2016.
NBA Insider: Nets Want to Move on From Irving
According to Heavy Sports’ NBA insider Steve Bulpett, the Nets remain in favor of moving on from Irving, who was unable to come to an agreement with the team on a new contract in June. That’s opened the path for the Lakers to make a deal for Irving and put him back on the same team as James, Irving’s teammate with the Cavaliers from 2014-2017, when the pair went to three consecutive NBA Finals, winning the 2016 championship. He also offered a warning for Irving’s next team.
“The Nets would love to be out of that situation but they don’t want to give him up for nothing and what’s his true value?” Bulpett said in a video interview. “It would appear that whatever you can get in return, from everything I am gathering talking to teams, what you can get in return for Kyrie Irving is not nearly matched by his talent. But then, how often is his talent on the court? Last year, he found a couple different ways to miss games.
“You’re always going to deal with that with Kyrie. I am not sure he is ever going to be in a place where he is happy, comfortable, peaceful for a long period of time.”
Lakers Have Sought Westbrook Deal
As it stands, the Lakers are poised to go into the 2022-23 season with Westbrook still in the lineup, likely as the starting point guard. Darvin Ham has said that getting Westbrook to be a useful, productive part of the rotation is still one of his top goals in his rookie season as Lakers coach.
But, as the offseason has worn on, it has become clear that Westbrook did not much enjoy his first season with the Lakers, and though he has not formally called for a trade, L.A. has done all it can to find a new home for him. That’s proved difficult considering Westbrook’s $47 million salary and his reputation for having a tough time fitting into offensive systems that are not designed around him.
Irving has his issues as a player, on and off the court, as well, but the Lakers figure to be better-suited to handling those issues than most teams.