“Playing elite level basketball consistently, showing up to work, it was alongside LeBron James” - Kendrick Perkins says the LA Lakers are the only team better off with Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving’s only option for a new destination seems to be LA. Former NBA player Kendrick Perkins suggested the LA Lakers would benefit from getting Irving.
Perkins said:
“The Lakers are the only team that’s better off with Kyrie. When you look at Kyrie Irving record with LeBron James in the postseason when they was in Cleveland, 39 and 13.
"When you talk about Kyrie Irving playing elite level basketball consistently, sowing up to work, it was alongside LeBron James. I think that’s the only team that will be willing to accept Kyrie Irving.”
LA Lakers last option for Kyrie Irving
"The Lakers are the only team that's better off with Kyrie Irving."
—@KendrickPerkins 😳 https://t.co/cpuBOQjAGD
The history that LeBron and Kyrie share is the largest reason the Lakers would be the best destination for Irving.
Yet, Perkins does not explain them to be the ‘best’, but rather, the ‘only’ team that would be better off with Irving.
Kyrie Irving’s unreliability has become a problem as injuries and vaccination politics have curbed the star's playtime. Many teams have a comfortable core of young players that are helping develop teams into championship contenders.
Regardless of Irving being one of the best small finishers of all time, his lack of dedication to the game last season stands as a red flag to most teams.
Brooklyn sacrificed their young core in 2019 and the team did not gain much traction. If anything, they now stand in a worse spot than they were before Irving’s joining.
LeBron and Kyrie’s relationship is a great reason for the players to join up. James is in need of a new lifeline, and so is Irving. Plus, the pair had a +423 point differential when they were both on the floor together in their 2016-17 season in Cleveland. Offensive domination like that is exactly what the Lakers need in order to make themselves contenders again.
Irving and LeBron’s dissipation after leaving Cleveland would have been a large wedge between them going forward if Kyrie had not commented on it earlier in the year.
In fact, those comments are one of the reasons some believe Irving’s next destination might be the Lakers.
All of this history, combined with the current position the LA Lakers are in, is exactly why Perkins believes the team to be the only one to benefit form gaining Irving.
Not to mention if they do get Kyrie, there is a probable Russell Westbrook swap that most believe is the only option. The two players both have around $40 million left on their contracts. That would make the swap almost even and fix headaches on both sides.
Giving the Nets Westbrook and allowing him to do his own thing with his own squad again could benefit him. Meanwhile, the Lakers receive Kyrie and hope that +423 point differential intensity comes with him.