The Los Angeles Lakers’ 2021-22 NBA season will be remembered as one of the worst seasons in the franchise’s history. After all, they had a roster featuring LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook.
On paper, the team sounded pretty amazing, but in reality, that was far from the truth. For starters, their Big 3 played very few games together. Anthony Davis was injured for almost the entire season.
On the other hand, Russell Westbrook failed to adjust to his new role and the team. The only good thing about their season was an incredible season from LeBron James.
But that alone is not enough for the Lakers to win an NBA Championship next season. They need a good supporting cast around James and also to improve the bench depth.
Moreover, if they could trade Westbrook, it would not only free up a lot of cap space but also allow the Lakers to get a point guard whose playing style compliments LeBron’s.
One name that has constantly been linked to the Lakers has been Kyrie Irving. Irving and James have already played together for three seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and even won an NBA Championship together.
If the Lakers could trade for him, it would highly increase their chances of winning a ring next season. NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith has suggested that while Irving wants to join the Lakers, he will probably wait until next season to join as a free agent.
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“Kyrie Irving is telling everybody he plans on going to LA, meaning the Lakers as soon as he possibly can. The likelihood is that he will have to go through this season. Then when he becomes a free agent after this season is over, he plans on rejoining LeBron James in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform.”
If this news is true, it is certainly a troublesome situation for the Lakers. LeBron is already 37 years old and will be 38 years old by the end of the season.
So the championship window is pretty slim for the Lakers, and they wouldn’t want to waste their chance to win a ring with LeBron this season. However, take this news with a pinch of salt. Since Kyrie Irving and Stephen A. Smith have a feud, there’s a possibility this news could be far from the truth.
Whatever the case, it seems obvious that the Lakers are trying their best to reunite Kai and LBJ. But will they succeed? We will find out in the coming days.
