It’s now Kyrie Irving or bust for the Lakers after Deandre Ayton contract

The Los Angeles Lakers‘ “plan A” this offseason is to work out a trade for Kyrie Irving that involves Russell Westbrook. While Irving has his issues as a player, the team is not winning a championship with Westbrook and Irving is at least a more talented point guard at this point in time.

However, that saga with the Brooklyn Nets has been interesting and there is no guarantee that the Lakers will get Irving to Los Angeles. Thus, Rob Pelinka and co. had to come up with a “plan B” and it appeared that the Indiana Pacers were indeed going to be that contingency plan.

As is common in the NBA, things have changed and the Pacers are no longer a candidate to take on Russell Westbrook’s massive salary next season. It was reported on Thursday that Deandre Ayton is signing a max four-year, $133 million offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers.

Phoenix can still match the offer but knowing how owner Robert Sarver operates, it seems unlikely that the Suns will be able to stomach paying Ayton that much. The former first-overall pick may very well be on his way to Indiana, which now takes the Pacers out of the running for a salary-dump trade.

The Indiana Pacers cannot take on Russell Westbrook’s contract from the Lakers.

The Pacers actually have to create cap space in order to bring in Ayton and there is nothing the team can do to take on Westbrook and create that cap space. Even a package of Buddy Hield and Myles Turner is not enough as Indiana would actually be taking on more money in the package.

Sure, there is the potential that the Lakers could try and trade picks and THT for Myles Turner, but that would be foolish. That would take away the draft capital needed to move Westbrook in the first place. It does not matter what players the team brings in, it will not win a championship with Westbrook on the roster.

Thus, all the Lakers’ attention must now shift to trading for Kyrie Irving. That truly is the last out that Los Angeles has to not just get Westbrook off the team, but also add more talent in the process as well.

Unfortunately, this could also muddy the waters with a Durant trade, as the Suns won’t be able to trade for Durant without trading Ayton to Brooklyn. So buckle up and expect the Irving saga to continue for quite some time.

Pass or pursue proposed trades the Lakers should consider making

The Los Angeles Lakers are going to need to make a trade of some kind to compete next season. But are these proposed trades worth it?

At least it will all be worth it in the end if the Lakers can actually contend for an NBA Championship this season.