As the NBA playoffs rage on, backdoor meetings are happening between two of the NBA’s most notorious teams.
According to NBA Insider Adam Zagoria, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and Nets GM Sean Marks had some kind of “secret meeting” at the NBA Draft combine earlier this week:
Nets GM Sean Marks and Lakers exec Rob Pelinka had a meeting at the Marriot Marquis this week at the NBA Combine.
Unclear what they discussed. Potential trade? Dinner plans? Comparing superstar headaches?
Nets GM Sean Marks and Lakers exec Rob Pelinka had a meeting at the Marriot Marquis this week at the NBA Combine.
Unclear what they discussed. Potential trade? Dinner plans? Comparing superstar headaches?
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) May 21, 2022
Unsurprisingly, reports of the meeting have sprouted all sorts of rumors, including some that suggest some kind of trade could be in the works.
Kyrie, who once played with LeBron in Cleveland, has been the subject of countless trade rumors over the past few months, and he even joked that he would have joined the Purple and Gold had he not left the Cavs in 2017:
“I’d probably be in LA right now,” said Irving in a recent interview. “I’d probably be traveling in his backpack. I’m joking man. We’ve had conversations, me and Bron, so when me and him clicked in 2015, I had one of my best years. Bron was like behind the scenes… I asked for a trade because I was looking for something different. I went to the organization, I know you have future plans, tell me right now. They told me, I said this isn’t for me. ‘Ky wasn’t talking to the team for the last month’. They started throwing all these things. I was questioning myself like ‘I left one of the best to play the game’ and I started listening to that. When you start believing what other people say about you, you become a shell of yourself.”
It is certainly possible the two GMs were discussing some kind of deal. In reality, though, we have no idea what the meeting was about, and it’s unlikely we will ever find out for sure.
But as two of the NBA’s most disappointing teams this season, it’s interesting to think about ways the Nets and Lakers might be able to help each other. For now, they’ll have to keep talking behind the scenes as the postseason continues.
