“You have LeBron and Anthony Davis, guess what? That is not enough” - NBA analyst says the LA Lakers need Kyrie Irving, says they need to win now
The LA Lakers had a horrendous 2021-22 season where they finished 11th in the Western Conference. Despite LeBron James ending the campaign averaging 30.3 PPG, the team did not look like a well-oiled unit.
Players and owners would certainly not want anything like that to happen again. That has pushed the Lakers to make some offseason moves.
However, among all of those moves, bringing in Kyrie Irving is going to be the most important one for the 17-time champions. The 30-year-old has opted in to his contract with the Brooklyn Nets. But according to reports, he will most likely seek a move away from the Eastern Conference side.
Last week, there was a lot of buzz about the trade. But as the days have passed, the talks seem to have slowed down a little. Zach Lowe believes that the Brooklyn Nets are playing it extremely safe in trade talks with Irving.
He believes that the Purple and Gold want to win the championship as soon as possible, for which Irving could prove to be instrumental. Speaking about the seven-time All-Star on ESPN's Get Up, Lowe said:
"Lakers you have LeBron James towards the very end of his career, you have to win right now. By the way, he is up for an extension in August, he hasn't signed anything yet or indicated that he is going to quiet yet.
"You have LeBron and Anthony Davis, guess what that is not enough to win the championship. You know that we know that, you need Kyrie Irving."
Bringing Kyrie Irving to the team would certainly boost the LA Lakers' championship chances. With Russell Westbrook, the team has a lot of constraints as he is one player that can only flourish with the ball in his hands. The 33-year-old also lacks shooting, which is why the team went unsuccessful last season.
“The Lakers have the type of package that should be able to acquire Kyrie Irving especially the signal is out to the league that Kyrie would like to be in LA beyond next season so any other team that try’s to deal for him would be getting a rental player”https://t.co/JC6iLtDYWn
Kyrie Irving has already played aside LeBron James. He had his best years alongside the "Kid from Akron". If he were to move to the LA Lakers, the two would be a duo that could wreck havoc in the West.
There is still no certainty as to how long it will take for the deal to happen. However, there is no doubt that the Lakers will try their best to make it happen.
Kyrie Irving isolation mastery. 🥶 https://t.co/lhiUyXR8bV
Zach Lowe further explains what the Nets expect from the LA Lakers in a Kyrie Irving trade
The LA Lakers are reportedly one of the only teams that is actively interested in Kyrie Irving. However, the Nets are only ready to make the deal happen if the Purple and Gold are willing to let go of their first-round picks.
In any deal for Irving, the Nets would want at least one first-round pick, which the Lakers are hesitant to part with.
Regarding their options, Lowe said:
"We're gonna sit back and wait till you gives us both first-round picks 2027 and 2029. By the way, we don't wanna hear anything about protections on those picks, we want them whole hard unprotected.
"Kyrie Irving if you don't get traded to the Lakers, if they don't give us that stuff, you can sit at home just like you did almost all of last season, we don't care, wake us up when there are more options."
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Kyrie Irving's trade scenario is a tricky one for the Lakers as the Nets are in no hurry to make a deal happen. They would first want to see what happens with Kevin Durant and depending on that decide Irving's future.
The LA Lakers have made some exciting young signings for the next season. However, bringing in Kyrie Irving would be the only way they can legitimately contend for the championship.