Lakers’ backup plan for Kyrie Irving is reportedly now off the table
By Jason Reed
The big move that the Los Angeles Lakers were hoping to make this offseason was trading for all-star guard Kyrie Irving. While Irving has had his fair share of value-lowering issues over the last few years, he is far better than Russell Westbrook.
Getting Westbrook off the team and getting someone better in return was something that was never dreamed of before this offseason. It then became a reality with all of the drama surrounding the Brooklyn Nets.
However, trading for Kyrie seems less and less likely the longer this thing stalls out. An NBA insider even insinuated that Kyrie is no longer on the market, meaning that the Lakers would potentially have to pivot to a backup plan.
Unfortunately for Lakers fans, the team’s no. 1 backup option no longer seems to be on the table as a trade with the Indiana Pacers for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner is reportedly dead according to The Athletic’s Bob Kravitz.
Per source, the Lakers-Pacers trade involving Russell Westbrook, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield and other assets is currently dead. That's not to say the Lakers can't come back and add a second first-round pick to the current package of picks, but for now, things are at a standstill.
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) July 22, 2022
The Los Angeles Lakers might need to simply cough off a second first-round pick.
Trading two first-round picks for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner would not be the best move in the world and I cannot blame the team for hesitating in making that decision. That being said, if the trade was a first-round pick and a pick swap it would not be the worst thing in the world.
Regardless, the Lakers need to stop being stingy and get off of the idea that they can dump Westbrook with only one first-round pick. While the Lakers obviously want to get the best deal possible and want to use their leverage and wait, they also cannot allow Kyrie Irving to slip through their fingers.
Not wanting to trade two first-round picks for Hield and Turner is understandable. The Lakers should have already traded two first-round picks for Kyrie Irving AND taken on more money in the deal by including Joe Harris.
This team is at a crossroads right now. Does it care about winning this upcoming season or not? Yes, trading future first-round picks is a hard thing to do but the Lakers have already poured so many resources into this title window with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Is the team fine with just one championship and is okay with being mediocre this season yet again? Or are they going to realize that the title window is shrinking and if they don’t make LeBron James happy then Anthony Davis won’t be happy and then suddenly we are back in the dark ages.
The most ironic part about the Lakers not wanting to trade future picks for talent this season is the fact that the Pelicans own the right to swap picks with the Lakers in the 2023 NBA Draft. Sure, the Lakers could hold onto their future picks, but if they roll this team out then they are going to be a lottery team once more.
How ironic would it be for the Lakers to not want to trade future picks only to end up giving the Pelicans a top-five pick in the 2023 NBA Draft? This is a team that should be trying to win at all costs and they don’t even realize that.