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If Brooklyn Nets All-Star Kyrie Irving elects to opt-out of the final year of his contract and enters free agency this summer, the Nets are open to dealing the championship-winning point guard via a sign-and-trade. Per Ryan Ward of “Lakers Nation,” the SportsBetting.ag sportsbook has Kyrie heading west in his next destination. The Los Angeles Clippers (+150) have the highest odds to land the All-Star guard if he decides to leave the Nets.
It would reunite the Nets star with his former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue, with whom he won his lone championship in 2016. But Law Murray of “The Athletic” says that Irving being traded to the Clippers is not an ideal situation for either side and Lue being the head coach is one of the top reasons.
“Irving’s not coming to the Clippers, and for a number of reasons. We can start with Lue, who is receiving more of his flowers from what he has been able to accomplish now than he ever did while in Cleveland. Lue’s acumen for strategy is superb, and his ability to connect with a wide range of players and build a healthy team culture is special,” Murray writes for “The Athletic”.
“Lue could coach Irving, and Irving could fit the Clippers locker room. But the possible adjustment that might have to be made to maintain that Irving would not be a distraction for the Clippers is not something that has to be considered for most players. This is not to unfairly single out Irving. But it is to say that Irving’s time in Cleveland and Boston did not exactly end amicably — and Irving’s time in Brooklyn has not gone smoothly for myriad reasons.”
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Kyrie on Clippers Could Be Latest Failed Super Team
Murray also notes that although the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat have been able to win titles with the proverbial “super team” it has not proved to be a winning formula as of late. Irving is proof of that after the Nets were forced to trade James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in February and the failed pairing of Russell Westbrook with Anthony Davis and LeBron James on the Lakers. Adding Irving to the Clippers roster could be the latest failed experiment.
“The Clippers and Irving don’t have to look far to see how big threes have worked out lately due to the strain it puts on the rest of the roster building. The Clippers share a market with the Los Angeles Lakers, who missed the playoffs despite LeBron James and Anthony Davis playing more games than Paul George or Kawhi Leonard, and with a full season of former MVP point guard Russell Westbrook. Irving’s Nets aborted their big three that involved Durant and James Harden, never got Ben Simmons on the floor, and were swept by the Celtics in the quarterfinals,” Murray continued.
“LA has invested not only in George and Leonard on the court but also their personalities and identities as SoCal natives have played a role in the team the Clippers are building. Adding Irving to that mix compromises what the Clippers have been building in terms of quality depth and have not yet been able to see through. Parting with one of George or Leonard takes away from what the Clippers have been trying to establish as a team built around apex-predator wing play.”
Kawhi Wanted to Team Up With Kyrie Before Paul George
Although Kyrie going to the Clippers is perceived a long shot, it’s not as far-fetched as it may appear. It is worth noting that before teaming up with Paul George, Clippers star Kawhi Leonard once considered the idea of teaming up with Kyrie.
“In one backroom power move, Kawhi Leonard rescued Paul George from a capped-out low-level playoff team, rejected the Lakers’ attempts to build perhaps the greatest big three in basketball history, and left the league as open as it has been in years,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe wrote in 2019.
“The league’s quietest superstar ‘found his voice,’ as one executive put it. He recruited George, Durant, and even Kyrie Irving at points.”
The most likely outcome of Kyrie‘s potential free agency is him re-signing with the Nets for less than the max. But as we have seen on multiple occasions with the Nets, anything can happen.
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