Earlier this week, NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the Nets and Kyrie Irving have seemingly mended their relationship with the Nets, deciding they will keep Irving around this season.
That news came just a day before the Nets announced that Kevin Durant had decided to rescind his trade request and that he and the franchise “have agreed to move forward with our partnership.” The Nets are likely confident KD and Kai, combined with the healthy returns of Ben Simmons and Joe Harris, the free agent acquisitions of Royce O’Neal and T.J. Warren, and re-signing Patty Mills and Nic Claxton, will help the team make a return to title contention.
However, there is one team that lost out on some superstar talent after Brooklyn decided to keep Irving on the roster, the Lakers. The Lakers were reportedly keen on acquiring Irving through trade this offseason and set up negotiations with third teams like the Pacers and Spurs to make it happen. Trade talks never materialized, though, and now the purple-and-gold will have to search the market a little longer to find more talent.
“We told you a month ago it was not gonna happen,” Charania said about an Irving-Lakers trade during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “As of right now, the Lakers are open to anything that will make their team better. So if there’s a deal out there and they can go get multiple different players, that makes the team better.
"We told you a month ago that Kyrie to the Lakers wasn't gonna happen.. the Lakers are open to anything that will make their team better" ~@ShamsCharania#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Swjio4siWD
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 23, 2022
Charania added that the Lakers would be looking to add rotation players that they can plug into their lineup. The insider believes players like Patrick Beverly and Bojan Bogdanovic will be targeted in trades during the season.
“Those are the type of moves you’re gonna see the Lakers try to make. I don’t think that they’re done necessarily. I think they’re still gonna try to get this team better. Yes, Kyrie Irving to the Lakers, for now, is not a thing.”
The Lakers will look to improve after adding rookie head coach Darvin Ham, who they hope can turn around Russell Westbrook’s Lakers tenure and help Anthony Davis get back to his top-five player status after a rash of injuries doomed his season and the Lakers’ title hopes over the last two seasons.
