3. Washington Wizards
This is by far the best-case scenario for the Brooklyn Nets and is a trade package that we actually built when we first heard about the Irving reports. This trade takes the most moving pieces, though, as it would require two stars forcing their way to their new teams.
Irving forcing his way to Los Angeles is obvious and is well-established by this point in the article. If the Washington Wizards were to get involved, it would indicate that Bradley Beal is forcing a trade out of Washington and has told the Wizards that he wants to be a Net.
Beal did say that he has already decided where he wants to play next but said he would not announce it publically. While he and Jayson Tatum are good friends and he might want to be a Celtic, playing with Kevin Durant is not so bad, either.
In theory, Beal would tell the Wizards that he wants to go to Brooklyn, forcing their hand to pair him with Kevin Durant. Meanwhile, the Lakers would take advantage of this, trading Russell Westbrook and two first-round picks to get Kyrie to LA.
Sure, Westbrook and two picks is not a great return for Beal normally, but this is not a normal situation. If the decision is between letting Beal walk for free or getting an expiring contract and two potentially valuable picks, the franchise should get the valuable picks every single time.
This is by far the best option for the Brooklyn Nets but also the option that has the most strings attached. As long as the Los Angeles Lakers can get Kyrie and get Westbrook off the books, they likely don’t care who the third team is.