Talks between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets for Kyrie Irving have reportedly frozen as Brooklyn prioritizes a Kevin Durant trade. With a Durant trade being unheard of and possibly taking a lot of time, Lakers fans might not feel too confident in getting Irving at this point in time.
While a Deandre Ayton sign-and-trade might prompt the Lakers to get aggressive and try and make the Irving trade happen now, the Nets very well could just wait it out until the Durant situation resolves.
This might not be an ideal situation but Lakers fans should not worry. Based on how the front office has constructed the team this offseason, it seems like a bonafide guarantee that Los Angeles will do whatever it takes to make an Irving trade happen.
As long as the Nets are continuing to shop Kyrie (they are) then the Lakers will do what it takes.
Why the Lakers will undoubtedly trade for Kyrie Irving based on their roster:
There are some interesting trends that the front office has followed this offseason. First of all, Los Angeles exclusively signed players who are under the age of 30 and signed two players under the age of 25. Instead of giving the MLE to a veteran role player, the Lakers instead gambled on a younger player like Lonnie Walker IV, who might not be a perfect fit but has potential.
This opens the door to trading Talen Horton-Tucker, who was previously the only young player the Lakers had on the roster. THT could absolutely be included in a Kyrie Irving trade, which is important as the two teams work out the logistics of making the money right for both sides.
Speaking of making the money right, the two players that the Lakers may have to take in to make this trade happen is Joe Harris and Seth Curry. The Nets would prefer Harris because his contract is larger and is a two-year deal but Curry could be involved as well to make the money right.
Harris and Curry are two of the best shooters in the entire league. What don’t the Lakers really have any of at this point in time on the roster? Three-point shooter. Despite it being extremely important in today’s NBA, the Lakers did not really sign a single person who can shoot threes consistently.
Heck, the best three-point shooter the team signed is probably Thomas Bryant and he is a center. While there is a Summer League standout who could offer a deadeye presence, LA is still significantly short in the shooting department.
Now, why would the Lakers completely ignore adding shooters despite knowing the value it brings to the team, especially with LeBron James? Perhaps because they know they are going to add one, if not two, elite role-playing shooters as part of the Kyrie Irving trade.
If the Lakers don’t make the Kyrie Irving trade after the roster decisions that have been made this offseason then it is going to be really ugly for the team. While the roster is younger, it is not any more talented than it was last year. In fact, it might be worse.
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For that reason, regardless of what the Nets want, Rob Pelinka will end up getting desperate and will make an Irving trade happen.