“Their best option right now is to try to get Gary Payton, but knowing their luck, they’ll get the Gary Payton senior” - Bill Plaschke says the LA Lakers are in serious trouble, believes Kyrie Irving would’ve made it worse
Kyrie Irving has been linked to several teams, including the lakers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">LA Lakers. While many have been thrilled by the thought of Irving, columnist Bill Plaschke does not think the Brooklyn Nets guard would be much help.
Irving failed to reach a long-term agreement with the Nets, which led to rumors of his departure gaining traction. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski released Irving's six-team wish list for a sign-and-trade.
ESPN Sources: If Kyrie Irving can’t reach an agreement to stay with Brooklyn, he has a list of teams he’d like them to consider on sign-and-trades, including Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Heat, Mavs and 76ers. None of those teams have cap space to sign him without Nets’ help.
The main area of disagreement between both parties was the length of his contract. Irving wanted a long-term max contract, while the Nets were looking to have one more go before committing.
However, Plaschke does not see how Irving will help the Lakers out of their situation. They brought in Russell Westbrook last summer to provide a third scoring option, but that experiment failed.
On "The Dan Patrick Show," Plaschke said:
"The fact that Westbrook is staying – we knew he was staying – but the fact that he just reminded us of this, $47 million and singing you can't break my soul. I'm glad we can't break his soul for 47 million freaking dollars. That's a comfort.
"Laker fans are, they're in trouble. They've thrown their hands up. Kyrie wasn't gonna help. He was gonna make it worse, but it's still bad. They've got nowhere to turn. I mean their best option right now is to try to get Gary Payton (II), but knowing their luck, they'll get the Gary Payton Sr., and not the son.
"They need to be aligned in the story about Russell Westbrook agreeing to stay for $47 million, thus dashing the Lakers' playoff hopes for next season."
While some Lakers fans are distraught about the idea of Westbrook donning the uniform for another season, others are open to giving him a second chance. "Mr. Triple Double" just opted into his $47 million player option for next season.
ESPN Sources: Los Angeles Lakers star Russell Westbrook is planning to exercise his $47.1 million option to return to the franchise for the 2022-2023 season.
The LA Lakers were reportedly eyeing a LeBron James-Kyrie Irving reunion
The Lakers were reportedly pursuing a sign-and-trade deal with the Nets. Wojnarowski revealed that the Lakers had already indicated interest, but the Nets were not interested in what was being offered.
BREAKING: The Lakers have offered a sign-and-trade package centered around Russell Westbrook to the Nets for Kyrie Irving.
The Nets currently aren’t interested.
(via @wojespn) https://t.co/HbphKodEB3
Regardless, a move for Irving will not be happening, at least this season. The All-Star guard will reportedly opt into his player option and remain committed to Kevin Durant and the Nets.
There were reports that Irving and LeBron James talked about the possibility of a reunion. But that is not going to happen this offseason.
People "very close to the situation" believe Kyrie Irving is trying to join the Lakers, per @sam_amick
LeBron James is said to be “very open" to the possibility. https://t.co/tDKQxfFMVN
James and Irving played together for three consecutive seasons from 2015 to 2017. In that period, they reached the NBA Finals three times and won a title in 2016.