Skip to main content

Kyrie Irving trade rumors: Lakers, Nets actively discussing deal involving Russell Westbrook, per report


 


The Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers are making progress on a trade that would swap Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook, according to Chris Haynes. Other pieces would have to be involved, but there is "palpable optimism" that the two sides can figure out a deal this summer. 


Irving recently opted into the final year of his deal worth $36.4 million but is expected to be traded after his star teammate Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Nets. "If Kevin Durant is on the first train out, Kyrie Irving will be on the caboose as far as the Nets are concerned," Brian Windhorst reported earlier this week. 


Coming off a season in which he played just 29 games because he refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and given his previous injury history -- Irving hasn't played 70 games in a season since 2017 when he was still with the Cleveland Cavaliers -- the market for the mercurial guard is understandably not as robust as the one for Durant. 


The Lakers, though, have very little to lose. Irving represents their best chance to add talent this summer, and he has a previous relationship with LeBron James. Both players will be hitting free agency next season, and the Lakers are trying to squeeze one more title out of the LeBron and Anthony Davis pairing. Irving has his fair share of negatives, but on the court he would be a much better fit than Westbrook, and would greatly increase the Lakers' title odds. 


Of course, trading Westbrook is much easier said than done; the Lakers have been trying to do so since the middle of last season, just months after they originally acquired him. He recently opted into the final year of his contract, which is worth $47 million, which makes a trade tricky from a logistical perspective. Plus, there's the fact that he's well past his prime, but still needs the ball in his hands the majority of the time to be effective at all. 


There really aren't any basketball situations that make sense, but the Nets are in a bad spot after the Durant trade request, and might be willing to take Westbrook on as an expiring contract if they can move Irving and coax some concessions out of the Lakers. In particular, the Nets will be eager to acquire some draft picks given how many they owe the Houston Rockets in the coming years via the James Harden trade. 


Per Haynes, draft compensation is currently one of the biggest sticking points in completing a trade. The Lakers are also out a bunch of future draft picks via the Anthony Davis deal, and were previously unwilling to attach future first-round picks to move Westbrook. If they can get Irving, though, it may be worth the price. Furthermore, the teams apparently don't agree on the other players to be involved. Most notably, the Nets want to move Joe Harris, who has two years and $38.6 million remaining on his contract and is coming off ankle surgery, while the Lakers are pushing to get Seth Curry instead. 


It does not appear that a deal is imminent at this point, but if the two sides are this far along in discussions it may not be long before Irving is reunited with LeBron and wearing the purple and gold. 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dennis Rodman Once Said He, Michael Jordan, And Scottie Pippen Could Lock Up LeBron James: "LeBron Is So Easy To Play. He’s So F**king Easy To Play. He Doesn’t Have Any Moves."

  If there is something that will never end it is the comparison between players from different eras. Even in that niche, most comparisons revolve around the legendary players from the Chicago Bulls. Yes, we are talking about the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. A perfect example of that was seen by fans back in a 2019 interview featuring Dennis Rodman. The Worm was asked about his thoughts on guarding none other than LeBron James. Rodman replied: (starts at 6:06) "You know who could lock up LeBron? Me, Mike, and Scottie could. F*ck yeah. I would have locked his a** up. LeBron is so easy to play. He’s so f*cking easy to play, he don’t have any moves. Only move he has is streak down the line. He ain’t got no moves. Where he going?? Where is he going that’s quick? That’ll be sh*t, you can stop that. Scottie Pippen would have shut his f*cking a** down quick before I get to him. His game is too simple, he’s just big. I’m 260 and 6’8” and 6’9”, that’s the onl...
Post a Comment
Read more

From Deep: At long last, Nikola Jokic's Nuggets can envision getting to the top of the mountain

  Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021. Leading up to that night, he'd been playing at an All-NBA level for two months: In a 25-game stretch, Murray averaged 24.1 points on .509/.459/.935 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He was even more efficient than he was in the bubble playoffs, and his defense had improved, too. Murray only got to play with Aaron Gordon, the Denver Nuggets' big trade-deadline addition, for five games. They won them all except the one in which Murray got injured. In 110 minutes, their new starting five scored slightly more efficiently than any iteration of the Kevin Durant-era death lineup in Golden State and defended like a top-five team. Two Nikola Jokic MVP awards later, Murray is back. So is Michael Porter Jr., who signed a five-year extension about a year ago and needed back surgery nine games into the 2020-21 season. The Nuggets remember how easily everything slid into place with Gordon in the mix. Newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pop...
Post a Comment
Read more

Michael Jordan On LeBron James: "He's An Unbelievable Player, He's One Of The Best Players In The World... I'm A Fan Of His, I Love Watching Him Play..."

  Even before he made it to the NBA, LeBron James was already compared to the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan. His Airness made a huge impact on the league, winning six championships in eight years, dominating rivals every night, and becoming one of the best two-way players in NBA history.  During his career, and even during his retirement, many players were compared to Jordan, but nobody could live up to the expectations. LeBron James was deemed 'The Chosen One' when he was a teenager, and comparisons between him and MJ never stopped coming.  They have mutual respect, and the biggest proof of that came during the 2022 All-Star Game, where MJ and Bron embraced each other in Cleveland. James would post a big pic of his first and most recent encounter with Jordan, paying respect to the man that inspired him.  Just like the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has always shown his admiration for James, Jordan has done the same before. Back in 2020, during a press co...
Post a Comment
Read more