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If Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving had hopes of joining his former teammate LeBron James in Los Angeles, those dreams might have to now be abandoned.
James signed a massive two-year, $97.1 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, so instead of taking a pay cut like James Harden did with the Philadelphia 76ers, which was subsequently put under investigation by the NBA, James decided to cash in.
This isn’t a surprise from the team as The Athletic’s Jovan Buha said they expected as much from him, but they didn’t know when it would happen because of James’ private insistence the team goes after Irving.
“Those around the team were confident that James signing an extension was likely, considering how much he’s enjoyed playing for the Lakers and living in Los Angeles,” Buha wrote. “The primary complication in James’ decision was that he has been privately adamant that the Lakers still need to improve the current roster and trade for superstar point guard Kyrie Irving, league sources have told The Athletic.”
It would seem those complications have dissipated considering James signed the extension. With roughly six weeks to go until training camp kicks off, there’s still time to make a trade for Irving, but the extension signing does make it a bit more unlikely.
Trading for Irving would reunited the same duo that won a championship together in Cleveland, and although this signing doesn’t slam the door shut on that happening, it does seem to make things more complicated as it puts more money on the books in the years to come.
Can Irving Still Be Traded?
Keep in mind that Kevin Durant is the player who requested to be traded, not Irving, so there was never a guarantee Irving would be shipped to Los Angeles or anywhere else for that matter.
If a trade between the Nets and the Lakers were to happen, it seems like there’s no way not to get Russell Westbrook involved in it.
“Considering James’ preference to trade for Irving and his displeasure with the Lakers’ inactivity at the 2022 trade deadline, the tea leaves would suggest the Lakers indicated to James they will be more aggressive in their pursuit of improving their title chances this season, which, of course, would have to come in form of trading Westbrook,” Buha continued.
Irving did seem to be interested in a team up with James in Los Angeles earlier in the offseason, but his opting in effectively put an end to those rumors.
“There’s palpable optimism that an agreement can be struck between the two sides this offseason, but there remain a few hurdles, sources said,” Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes reported in July.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported in June that Irving sparked up talks with James about a potential reunion as well, so it does appear his mind has changed, and if he was hoping for a trade, the chances just got slimmer.
“There are credible rumblings in circulation that Irving, for starters, has indeed had some recent contact with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, his former Cleveland teammate, to presumably discuss a potential reunion in Hollywood,” Stein said.
If you’re the Nets, you’re probably hoping an option emerges that would see both Irving and Durant stay in Brooklyn, but that’s looking quite difficult at the moment.
Durant wants both Steve Nash and Sean Marks gone, and it doesn’t seem like the team is willing to make that happen for him. The Nets still have Durant signed for another four seasons, so this could end up being quite rocky, especially if the star forward decides to hold out from training camp.
Lakers Offering Picks Too
If the Nets do want to move Irving, the Lakers have a way they could sweeten the deal and it comes in the form of two first round picks in 2027 and 2029 respectively.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers are willing to trade these picks for Irving, but the Nets haven’t bit on the offer as of yet. It’s not clear how much better an offer could be from another team, so this might just be an indication the Nets are going to head into the season with Irving as thier point guard.
The Lakers have fought to hold onto these picks as it’d offer them some flexibility in the years following James’ retirement, but if they want to win a championship now, this might be the best shot.
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