The Los Angeles Lakers’ failure to make the playoffs in 2021-22 left a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths. It also cemented the idea that the roster, as presently constructed, cannot even come close to winning a championship.
Because L.A. is hamstrung by a rough financial situation, options to improve the team are limited. That is why this past week’s little dance with Kyrie Irving was so intriguing. It was a path to upgrading the Lakers in a realistic way.
Unfortunately, Irving’s decision to opt in to his $37 million player option derailed all that.
Or so folks assumed.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the door on Irving ending up in purple and gold in a trade centering around Russell Westbrook is not officially closed.
Brian Windhorst thinks a potential Kyrie Irving for Russell Westbrook trade is something Brooklyn could revisit down the line 👀
(h/t @AhnFireDigital ) pic.twitter.com/AKxA2vm8Jg
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 29, 2022
“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that this is going to happen in the next two days, but if the Nets don’t get to a place with Kyrie Irving where they think that things will improve, I think they could revisit this,” he said. “I don’t think it’s impossible that this could be looked at down the line.”
Windhorst is an extremely plugged in NBA insider. And while a lot of the stuff he sometimes says is dismissed as crazy, he has a strong track record of being right.
If he says there is more to this situation – there is more to this situation.
Plus, it’s hard to ignore how much the Nets as an organization hate Irving at this point. His treatment of coaches and players has apparently left a lot to be desired. That coupled with his unreliability and the fact that he has missed more than 50 percent of his squad’s games over the past three years isn’t exactly a recipe for success.
Yikes. https://t.co/MnaN8fSOpv
— Game 7 (@game7__) June 29, 2022
The Lakers need to make a change. LeBron James has made it no secret that he deeply regrets the Westbrook acquisition.
Swapping out Westbrook for Irving would solve a lot of problems for both sides.
Time will tell if this trade ultimately comes to fruition, but if it does, it could drastically alter the makeup of next year’s championship race.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
