After a week full of rumors regarding Kyrie Irving and his future in the league, it looks like not everybody is actually keeping tabs on this situation. 29 teams have good packages to lure Irving away from Brooklyn, but he’s not interested in joining all of them.
In fact, Kyrie has reportedly identified the teams he’d like to play for if he leaves the Nets this summer. The Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks and Philadelphia 76ers are on Kyrie’s list. Then again, not every team mentioned here is interested in Irving’s services.
Adrian Wojnarowski recently reported that out of these teams, only the Lakers have a serious interest in Kyrie. During a recent edition of Get Up, Woj had this to say:
“I think the one team with the most interest in Kyrie Irving are the Lakers. There’s really not a sign-and-trade scenario with Brooklyn that makes sense. Of course, if the Lakers want to offer Anthony Davis in a sign-and-trade, the Nets will do that, but that’s not going to happen. And so if you’re Kyrie Irving, you wait to get to the Lakers, opt-out of your contract next week and sign a $6 million exemption that the Lakers will have available. The difference with that and the Nets and his opt-in with the Nets is $30 million…”
“That list, in terms of teams like Dallas, Philadelphia, the Clippers, I don’t think there’s interest there. The Knicks, they have some priorities well ahead of Kyrie Irving, Jalen Brunson. For Dallas, they are trying to clear cap space to sign a free agent that’s not Kyrie Irving right now.”
Kyrie is a polarizing player that has been involved in many controversies over the past couple of years. Perhaps his talent is off the charts, but his behavior off the court might have played a role in this situation. Still, joining the Lakers shouldn’t be a bad thing, as he would reunite with LeBron James to try to relive old glories.
Free agency is around the corner and once we hit that chaotic and magical moment, we’ll have a clearer view of what Kyrie wants to do with his career.
