LA Lakers News: Team had concerns over Kyrie Irving's track record and reliability factor
Kyrie Irving is now a Dallas Maverick, but apparently, the LA Lakers attempted to obtain the superstar guard.
LA have always been interested in acquiring Irving. They finally had the opportunity to do so when he made a sudden trade request to leave the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. However, it appears that the Lakers had second thoughts about trading for him.
According to the Silver Screen & Roll, the Lakers already had an offer prepared to trade for Kyrie Irving. LA even nearly threw in a couple of draft picks that the Brooklyn Nets requested.
Apparently, the Lakers had apprehensions about getting Irving due to some of his recent controversies.
From his recent suspension for promoting an antisemitic video to missing games due to his vaccination status, Irving comes with considerable risk and baggage. Given that LA is doing its best to rebuild, Irving isn't exactly the best solution.
What's next for the LA Lakers?
With the NBA trade deadline just a few days away (February 9), time is running out for the Lakers to acquire the pieces they need to potentially make a comeback. They currently have a 25-29 record and have only 28 games to at least secure a spot in the play-in Tournament.
Despite Anthony Davis' return to the lineup, LA is still having difficulty winning games. Then there's this theory among LA Lakers fans that the NBA doesn't want Lake Show to win. This is mainly due to the fact that the referees have been sloppy during their most recent games.
Two major examples are the refs' no-foul calls on Joel Embiid on January 16 and Jason Tatum on January 28. Both those games could've been potentially won by Russell Westbrook against the Philadelphia 76ers and LeBron James against the Boston Celtics.
Having said that, if LA had won those games, they would have a 27-27 record today. This would put them in 10th, ready for the play-in.
Unfortunately, for the LA Lakers, that was not the case and the outcomes can't be reversed. The best thing to do right now is to step up and work with what they currently have.