At 8:49 p.m. French time, a magnitude 7 earthquake hit the planet NBA when Kevin Durant requested his transfer from the Nets. And if KD’s future is obviously the hottest topic in NBA news right now, that of Kyrie Irving is just as intriguing. And unsurprisingly, the Lakers rumor mill is back to the fore.
Before Kyrie Irving took up his $36 million player option earlier this week, rumors of him potentially sending him to Los Angeles were growing. We heard that Uncle Drew was hot to join the City of Angels and find LeBron James, so much so that we began to consider the completely crazy scenario in which he declines his player option to become a free agent and sign for only six million dollars to LA via the taxpayer mid-level exception. Today, this scenario is no longer part of the field of possibilities, but that does not mean that an arrival of Irving at the Lakers is to be thrown in the trash. On the contrary, because the cards have officially been redistributed since KD’s transfer request. According ESPNIrving would have already let those around him know that he wants to join the legendary Californian franchise and force his arrival in Los Angeles. Oh shit, here we go again. Some insiders had hinted in recent days that a transfer of Kyrie remained possible even after he took his player option, this is evident today even if we did not think that KD would be at the origin of this reversal of situation. The difference from earlier this week is that Irving is now under contract for the 2022-23 season for $36.5 million (the value of his player option), and a potential transfer will be done on that basis.
A Kyrie Irving arrival at the Lakers — whether in a two-team or multi-team trade — would most likely involve Russell Westbrook, who just took his $47 million player option. On the set of NBA Todayinsiders Zach Lowe and David McMenamin – who covers the Lakers for ESPN – have just discussed this possibility, which would be much more credible now that Kevin Durant has chosen to turn the table in the office of the general manager of the Nets Sean Marks.
“According to my sources, the Clippers are not interested in Kyrie Irving. Same for Dallas, even though they just lost Jalen Brunson, which could still change some things. The Knicks just picked up Brunson. So back to the Lakers. If I’m Brooklyn and I see my team exploding, and fit doesn’t really matter, I may be tempted to get Russ back with two unprotected draft picks. »
– Zach Lowe, sur NBA Today
Future free agent in 2023, Kyrie Irving will not stay in Brooklyn once his contract ends. We can say that without a chin shake today, which means that the Nets will have to sell him back by the February trade deadline at the latest. But it would be worth for Sean Marks that he finds a deal during the offseason, because he will have less room for maneuver in a few months when he will be forced to move Kyrie to avoid losing him without the slightest consideration. Can the deal proposed by Zach Lowe be sufficiently interesting in the eyes of Brooklyn management? Draft capital and a contract expiring at 47 million, not bad for a guy like Uncle Drew whose value is at an all-time low. And on the other side of the fence, it’s an opportunity to end the Russ experiment to reunite Irving with LeBron, and form a new Big Three with Anthony Davis in order to return to the fore.
“The Lakers see Kyrie as a great talent, who has proven his ability to play well on the biggest stage alongside LeBron James. They know they need to be better than last year and that could be the way to get rid of Russell Westbrook and his 47 million. And honestly, this could be the type of trade that could cause the Lakers to let go of their draft picks, which they have always wanted to keep until then. »
– Dave McMenamin, sur NBA Today
Kyrie Irving at the Lakers, are we going straight? In any case, the rumors of an arrival of Uncle Drew in the City of Angels have just received a big boost, and it is perhaps the trade that makes the most sense today for both teams. . A word of advice: stock up on popcorn, because this 2022 off-season is going to be epic.
Source texte : ESPN