The Los Angeles Lakers’ dream of making an incredible big three of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving has blown up in their face after Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Nets asked for a hefty price for Irving from the Lakers, a team that has been trying to acquire the star for the last 8 months. Reportedly, the Lakers were also Kyrie’s preferred destination but it doesn’t look like the Nets were rushing to send him to LA.
The Nets asked for an extremely hefty package from the Lakers. This included not only giving up Russell Westbrook and two first-round picks, but also young stars in Austin Reaves and Max Christie, along with additional pick-swaps. The price seemed a bit ludicrously high given what the Mavs traded for Irving.
Marc Stein reported that the one thing Joe Tsai was focused on was ensuring Kyrie doesn’t end up with the Lakers due to that being his preferred destination.
“The Nets also succeeded, as one source close to the process put it, in meeting one of the presumed objectives held by team owner Joe Tsai by sending Irving somewhere other than the Lakers — his preferred destination.”
(via @TheSteinLine, https://t.co/FAMdxECGNZ) pic.twitter.com/2RJcNgopoM
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 6, 2023
Even though the Mavs gave the Nets the best win-now package, the Nets could have received a fair amount from LA especially if they managed to get a third team involved. Anyway, the Laker tax clouds their trade season once again as Irving will suit up for a conference rival in Dallas now.
Was Joe Tsai Being Unprofessional?
Intentionally making sure that Irving isn’t traded to the Lakers is not going to be the best look for Tsai but, it’s his team. He can’t send Irving exactly where he wants with the circumstances in which Kyrie requested this trade and has hurt team chemistry for the last 2 seasons.
The Nets got a package that allows them to continue contention this season, something Russell Westbrook wasn’t doing for them. Given they also asked for 3 first-round picks from the Phoenix Suns in addition to Jae Crowder and Chris Paul, it seems like the Nets were making pick prices extremely heavy for teams that didn’t have the players they wanted.
They expressed interest in Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith before and have gotten both of them for Kyrie, a player who didn’t want to play in Brooklyn anymore. Solid business, even though the Lakers have to be upset at failing to get this deal done.
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