The Los Angeles Lakers‘ 2022-23 season may have completely changed as it appears that Kyrie Irving will be leaving the Brooklyn Nets. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Irving and the team are at an impasse that could open the door for him to leave Brooklyn this offseason. The Lakers were named as a potential suitor for Irving.
We already broke down how Irving could get to LA and it would take a trade that would loop in a third team. This would be huge for the Lakers as they would not only get Irving but they would get off of Russell Westbrook’s contract — hence why the third team is needed.
However, this would be a complicated process and the Lakers do not have many assets to offer. The trade would hinder another team taking on Westbrook’s salary and also having something to offer to the Nets. Those options are few and far between and would take multiple players, not just Irving, trying to force their way somewhere new.
There are threats to trade for Kyrie Irving before the Los Angeles Lakers can.
Irving is in an interesting situation as his last two stops did not go as planned. His value might be lower than it ever has been on the trade market but there still will be teams that are interested. After all, this is Kyrie Irving that we are talking about.
The Lakers are not going to be the only players in town and while he will have a limited market, there is still a market there. Here are three teams that could be in that market and are potential threats to the Los Angeles Lakers.