"You got the Russell Westbrook problem hanging over their heads to having Kyrie Irving with Anthony Davis and Lebron James" - NBA insider keeps his reservations about the potential LA Lakers 'big 3'
The LA Lakers are at a standstill. With the catastrophe of a season imprinted fresh in supporters' minds, the Purple and Gold's decline from possessing a championship winning roster to the 11th seed team in the Western Conference is one of the biggest "falls from graces."
With the intention of bolstering their squad ahead of the 2022/2023 NBA season, the LA Lakers have been on the hunt for various prospects, as well as solidified and established talent around the league. One such name that has been brought up on a recurring basis is Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving.
The Lakers are the only team known to be interested in acquiring Kyrie Irving in a sign-and-trade deal, sources told @wojespn. es.pn/3OAVIvM
Speaking about the potential possibility of the Lakers acquiring Irving, ESPN's Tim Legler shared his insights on the latest episode of "This Just In," and provided us with a glimpse on what a possible reunion between LeBron James and Kyrie Irving would look like.
Legler stated:
"So to me, if he's playing next to LeBron James and you got Anthony Davis on the back line, that is an ideal fit for him from a basketball standpoint. The problem is the Lakers have to fill the other 12 spots on the roster, which it might have to fill with basically all minimum players. So I don't know if they'd be a good enough team to win a championship, but right now, the Lakers are a team that's gonna be fighting to be in the play in."
Kyrie Irving and LeBron James have shared the court on numerous occasions. The pinnacle of their accomplishments during their time together came in 2016, when the duo played pivotal roles in guiding the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first championship.
Not to forget, the feat was accomplished being down 3-1 to the greatest team in NBA history.
Tim Legler went on to add:
"obviously, it would be a massive upgrade for them to go from the situation they have now where you got the Russell Westbrook problem hanging over their heads to having Kyrie Irving with Anthony Davis and Lebron James."
The truth is, any deal involving Kyrie Irving would cost a lot, with the Laker franchise in no position to meet.
LA Lakers' future
In the summer of 2021, the LA Lakers acquired eight-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Montrez Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell Pope. In addition, the LA franchise shopped their draft picks for the upcoming campaign.
However, the alliance hasn't gone according to plan so far.
The LA Lakers have missed the playoffs following horrendous roster changes and poor recruitment in the summer of '21. They finished their campaign with a tragic and devastating 33-49 record.
With the Lakers' plan to switch All-Star Anthony Davis to the five, believing Westbrook would complement the All-Star duo of James and Davis. The experiment was a disaster, and that is putting it mildly.
In what was believed to be a "high risk, high reward" scenario, the Lakers front office was miles away from their projection. The collaboration, thus, turned out to be a "high risk, low reward" outline.
An opportunity at redemption has presented itself once again. Can the LA Lakers vindicate themselves? Only time will tell.