The Los Angeles Lakers have been linked with big moves recently, as they’ve been mentioned as favorites to land Kyrie Irving if the veteran point guard decides to end his 3-year tenure with the Brooklyn Nets and try his luck somewhere else. Irving had a very complex 2021/22 NBA season in Brooklyn, unable to make an impact on the team that was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
Recent reports suggest that Irving is plotting a reunion with LeBron James and he’s already contacted the King to discuss the prospect of playing together again, placing the Lakers as the No. 1 option for Kyrie in many eyes.
This would be great to watch, especially knowing how things ended between Irving and James in Cleveland and everything they said after taking separate ways. The potential new Lakers duo could make a lot of noise around the league, but not everybody is worried about that.
Draymond Green recently touched on this, claiming that joining LeBron is great for Kyrie given his lack of leadership skills, but stating that as great as they might be, they won’t beat the Golden State Warriors.
Sharing a few Draymond outtakes that didn't make the story…
He doesn't think Kyrie Irving will pass up the $30 million to leave the Nets, especially with a big Nike deal set to expire. But if he did… pic.twitter.com/kqldj1eRC7
— Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw) June 26, 2022
“With LeBron James, if you give them someone like Kyrie… they’ll have a chance because of the way Kyrie can score the basketball,” Green told Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg. “LeBron will only put him in a position to do that. Kyrie has not proven to be a great leader. LeBron will put an umbrella over that. If you can do what you’re good at, you have LeBron leading.”
“They could contend, but they won’t beat us.”
Knowing the history between the Warriors and the duo of LeBron and Kyrie, seeing them facing off again in the playoffs would be pretty special. The Warriors recently won the 2022 NBA championship and next year everybody will try to beat them. You can definitely add the Lakers to that list, and more so if they manage to land Kyrie Irving. Free agency is around the corner and many things will be defined once that moment arrives. Kyrie could have a new home as soon as the free market opens, or maybe we’ll have to wait a little longer before he makes up his mind.
