A seven-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer is rumored to have plans to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers next summer.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith claims that Kyrie Irving won’t re-sign with the Brooklyn Nets and will join the Lakers to reunite with LeBron James.
“Kyrie’s not re-signing with Brooklyn,” Smith speculated on the October 12th episode of “NBA Countdown.” “Kyrie’s planning on going to Los Angeles. He’s trying to go to Los Angeles. That’s what he was trying to do over the summer. That’s what he’s trying to do now. He knows that he’s gotta get through this season. Whether they win or lose, Kyrie is pretty much gone.”
Irving will become an unrestricted free agent after this season and Russell Westbrook’s contract comes off the Lakers’ books next summer. As it stands, Los Angeles has only James ($46.9 million), Anthony Davis ($40.6 million) and Max Christie ($1.7 million) under contract for the 2023-24 season. With the salary cap projected to be $134 million, the Lakers could create upwards of $30 million to $35 million in cap space.
The purple and gold tried to get Irving from the Nets this past offseason. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported in July that Los Angeles and Brooklyn were actively engaged in discussions on a trade package that would have sent Westbrook to the Nets and Irving to the Lakers.
However, after the Nets announced in August that two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant would not be traded, Irving was removed from the trade block.
Lakers Will Pursue Irving Next Summer
The Lakers will look at Irving and Jerami Grant next offseason, an anonymous NBA executive told Heavy’s Sean Deveney. Los Angeles wants to replace Westbrook with a different third star to play with James and Davis.
“No matter what they do with trades or however they reconstruct this year, they are going to keep an eye on next summer,” the exec told Deveney. “That is where they have a lot invested, being able to get another star-type player next summer. They’re going to look at Kyrie Irving, of course, but he is probably not their top choice. They will look at Jerami Grant, who they liked for a long time. Same with Myles Turner. I think Andrew Wiggins would be a big prize there because he can play two ways.”
James and Irving played in 183 regular-season games together on the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014-15 to 2016-17, compiling a record of 132-51. The two All-Stars also went 39-13 in the playoffs and guided the Cavaliers to the 2016 championship over the Golden State Warriors.
According to a July 29th report from Marc Stein of Substack, James wanted the Lakers to trade Westbrook to the Nets for Irving.
Lakers Believe Irving Is Coming
According to an August 23rd report from Alex Schiffer of The Athletic, the Lakers “still really feel like” Irving will be with them in 2023-24. Irving not only won a championship with James, but he also was teammates with Davis on the 2014 FIBA World Cup team and has a relationship with Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy.
“You talk to people over in Los Angeles, they still really feel like Kyrie is coming to them next year,” Schiffer said on “The Athletic NBA Show” podcast. “I’m curious to see how that goes over with recent events.”
The Lakers could compete for the title next season with Irving, James and Davis leading the way. Irving has career averages of 23.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists with the Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Nets.
“Kyrie’s fit in L.A. probably doesn’t require much analysis. He and LeBron won a title together in 2016,” Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey wrote on July 22nd. “He can shoot, which is the biggest differentiator between him and Westbrook. And he’s almost four years younger than Westbrook, too. Even with whatever off-court concerns may come with Kyrie, replacing Russ with him feels like a no-brainer.”
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7-Time All-Star & Future Hall of Famer Plans to Sign With Lakers, Analyst Says