A reunion for the duo of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving may be looking likely after yesterday’s reports that suggested Kyrie will be looking to move on from Brooklyn after the team and player were at an impasse in contract talks. The interested teams for Irving have been the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Knicks is more of a realistic destination, as they can give reasonable assets to the Nets for Irving or make room to sign him as a free agent. The Lakers are the more interesting and flashy option, as the Lakers roster is not looking like it is in good shape, with them not having the assets to trade for Irving or even the cap space to sign him.
But when a superstar wants something, he usually gets it. NBA superfan and podcaster Josiah Johnson knows the value that Irving would add to the Lakers and made a meme about how LeBron would trade most of the Lakers team if that could get them Kyrie on the squad.
Lakers: “Who we trading for Kyrie?”
LeBron: pic.twitter.com/le77hDT8r9
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) June 20, 2022
This may have been intended as a joke, but this is most definitely how it would go down in the Lakers front office if they had a genuine way of trading players to acquire Irving. Outside Anthony Davis, the team would be willing to trade anything. If the Nets believe in the value of Russell Westbrook, this could actually be a realistic trade.
The Lakers have no flexibility in this matter, so the Nets will probably not trade Kyrie for the weak assets that the Lakers have. Westbrook and Kevin Durant don’t seem to be waiting to be reunited as teammates, and the Lakers clearly come away with the better player, even with his off-court issues.
If LA is willing to wait one season, they could move for Irving in the next off-season, provided he accepts his player option whether in Brooklyn or wherever they trade him. With the Westbrook contract coming off the books, the Lakers could genuinely have some money to make a run at Kyrie.
