Kyrie Irving trade saga: Can LA Lakers land Kyrie Irving by selling Russell Westbrook to Brooklyn Nets ahead of Feb 9 trade deadline?
Kyrie Irving informed the Brooklyn Nets this week of his desire to part ways with the team. According to reports, Irving is hopeful that the team can deal him ahead of Thursday's trade deadline. If he doesn't get traded by the deadline, Irving plans to leave in free agency.
Some have speculated that the reason for Irving's decision is because he and the team couldn't reach an agreement on his contract going into free agency. While there haven't been any reports confirming or denying the theory, it seems as though Irving's time in Brooklyn could be coming to an end.
After Irving returned to the court following his eight-game suspension in November, trade talk began to die down. With his latest announcement, the talk of a potential trade between the LA Lakers and the Nets has ramped up again.
As the Lakers continue to fight their way up the Western Conference standings, it's clear something needs to change before the trade deadline. According to reports, the team knows they need to make moves if they have any hope of being legitimate contenders. With Irving now on the trade block, he could give the team the spark they need.
Just like during the offseason, talks of a potential Russell Westbrook-to-LA trade have continued to surface. In addition to a move reuniting LeBron James and Irving, it would also serve as a reunion between Kevin Durant and Westbrook.
Above, you can view ESPN analyst Adrian Wojnarowski's coverage of the breaking news.
What would a Kyrie Irving to Los Angeles trade look like?
This offseason, during discussions of a trade for Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets seemed unwilling to compromise their immediate future. The proposed deal between the two teams would have had the LA Lakers sending Russell Westbrook and two first-round picks to the Nets in exchange for Irving.
While the Lakers may be all in on the deal, at the time the Nets didn't seem interested.
As Marc Stein reported at the time:
"The Nets’ current stance, sources say, is that they are unwilling to send out Irving in a trade if the deal solely brings back future assets. They apparently want win-now talent in return to part with Irving, despite all of the turmoil that has engulfed the Nets for months."
Whether or not the team's view has changed as this season has played out, only time will tell. With Kevin Durant sidelined, the team needs to win now more than ever. Currently, they sit in fourth place in a stacked Eastern Conference. With the Cleveland Cavaliers just half a game behind them in the standings, they can't afford to lose games.
It has now been almost exactly a month since Durant played. With the trade deadline quickly approaching, it will be interesting to see if the Nets can keep themselves in contention while handling Irving's request.