At this point, it seems pretty inevitable that the Brooklyn Nets will eventually trade Kyrie Irving to Los Angeles to re-team with LeBron James. When that trade happened and what it ultimately looks like is still anybody’s guess, but given that any attempt to connect other teams with interest in Irving or otherwise generate leverage is almost immediately thwarted of the teams mentioned, it looks like the Lakers are essentially playing a game of musical chairs against themselves to be the mercurial point guard’s next stop when the music of this saga ends.
And as this adventure unfolds, it seems that for the second summer in a row, it’s James himself who’s pushing as hard as anyone for a new co-star. NBA veteran Marc Stein — in his latest Substack column — reported as much on Sunday (emphasis mine):
Brooklyn insists the talks are only preliminary at this point, but Chris Haynes’ report Saturday that the Nets and Lakers have discussed a trade for Kyrie Irving only fueled what is already a widespread expectation that Irving is destined to end up with the Lakers .
I definitely believe that too. I know Irving was in Los Angeles this week, but that’s not the source of my confidence. This stems from repeated rumors circulating that LeBron James is pushing hard to add Irving to the roster.
James, I’m told, wants to see Irving in Lakerland more than anyone. Also, what other team has a personality the size of LeBron with the ability to handle all the chaos that comes with the addition of Kyrie? Remember, James often thrived on chaos.
It’s not exactly a surprise — after all, trading Westbrook for Irving might be James’ last real chance to build a winner in Los Angeles after last year’s debacle — but it’s notable to have it confirmed. This interest from James is also just another reason to view this deal as a matter of when, not if.
And to add to Stein’s point, not only does James have experience on a team with Irving, but the Lakers are perhaps the only team in the NBA that would feel confident enough to take on Irving, based on two other factors:
- Irving’s desire to be in Los Angeles, since no team is going to give up assets for him with one year left on his contract if they’re in a place he doesn’t want to be after… well, * gestures to continue season*
- The fact that his presence would be a clear improvement in terms of basketball form over the team’s last starter, and that there’s no really compelling argument that even Irving’s perpetual unpredictability would be worse from a locker room perspective given who he is d be a deputy in the team hierarchy.
For those reasons alone, the Lakers are likely bidding against themselves here, and have various compelling motivations for doing so. Whether they do it today, this week, or this month is still up in the air, but at this point it’s hard not to. It just doesn’t seem like there are any other options for anyone involved.
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