After a summer full of rumors and speculation about their moves, the Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t make any big trades to boost their level and settled with a couple of trades and signings that didn’t really make a big difference.
During the summer, Kyrie Irving was heavily linked with the Purple and Gold, especially when he took more time to return to the Brooklyn Nets. It was during those days that the Lakers appeared to be interested in a move for Kyrie, and the player was reportedly keen to reunite with LeBron James in Southern California.
The 2022-23 NBA season already started and the Lakers are still struggling with Russell Westbrook on the roster. This sparked trade rumors regarding Russ again, and the Lakers are reportedly ready to pull the trigger in a move that would send Russ to the Jazz or Pacers.
NBA Executive Doesn’t Think Kyrie Irving Would Make Lakers Legit Contenders
However, there’s still a possibility of the Purple and Gold keeping things the way they are and waiting until next summer to try to bring a star in. After failing to get Kyrie Irving this offseason, they could make another run at him next year, but not everybody thinks that will be the right move to make for this team.
According to an NBA executive, not even getting rid of Westbrook and getting Kyrie Irving will be enough to make the Lakers contenders.
“But they’re probably going to look for the star, make another run at Kyrie Irving even though they don’t have the max to give him,” the executive told Heavy’s Sean Deveney. “Though, no one is scared of them if you swap out Russell Westbrook and put Kyrie on the team.”
The executive also mentions another player who could be available next summer, but it also won’t make a big difference offensively speaking.
“Draymond Green is on the list, too, if he decides to opt-out, and he probably will. He makes them a much better defensive team if you drop him onto that roster, but he is getting more and more unusable on offense, and they can’t afford another non-shooter.”
The Lakers have much bigger problems than just Russell Westbrook, who is said to want out of the team. Sure, he has proven to be a bad fit with LeBron James, but that’s not the only thing they should address to get better. If they record another bad season, we could see major changes happening at Crypto.com Arena. Yet, it’s not sure that they will make the right moves to become championship contenders again.
