NBA Rumors: LA Lakers will have to lose promising forward to get Kyrie Irving
Leading up to the trade deadline, the LA Lakers were linked to one of the biggest names on the market. After years of disarray together, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets decided to part ways.
When Irving first asked out, the LA Lakers were quickly connected to him. This was in large part because of LeBron James, who played with the All-Star guard in Cleveland. However, it was the Dallas Mavericks who ended up landing the former No. 1 pick at the deadline.
The Lakers might not have gotten Irving at the deadline, but there are still rumblings regarding a possible deal. This offseason, Irving is going to be an unrestricted free agent. Anything can happen in this scenario, including a sign-and-trade between Dallas and LA.
Recently, ESPN's Brian Windhorst touched on what it would take for the Lakers to get Irving. To make things work financially, they'd essentially have to give up all the role players they acquired at the deadline.
"To do it, they would have to pretty much jettison everybody they just picked up, including Rui Hachimura. They’d have to probably waive Malik Beasley. There are sign-and-trade scenarios where if they could get Dallas’ cooperation and maybe sweeten that pot for them, that they could keep more of their roster together.”
.@WindhorstESPN says there's a possibility the Lakers could go after Kyrie Irving and reunite with LeBron 👀 https://t.co/IaoMPwdTNE
Since joining the Lakers, Hachimura has performed well. He recently went for 21 points off the bench in LA's Game 2 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Should the LA Lakers go after Kyrie Irving in free agency?
Targeting a player like Kyrie Irving might be enticing for the LA Lakers, but they are better off going in a different direction. They've already seen what happens to this group when they overload on star power.
When LA won the title in 2020, it had a balanced roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. After that, the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook and were left with one of the worst supporting casts in the league.
Once again, the Lakers opted for depth at the deadline. This worked out in their favor, as they were able to turn their season around. Seeing the blueprint that they need, it'd be shocking to see the front office go after a big move again.
Instead of going after Irving, the Lakers should look to keep this group intact. Retaining free agents like Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves should be at the top of their priority list.