What a Los Angeles Lakers trade for Kyrie Irving would look like:
Just because the Lakers did not trade for Kyrie in the past doesn’t mean that they won’t do it in the future. LA is in a better spot to trade for Irving and if the 2023-24 season starts like it ended for Dallas Mavericks then they are going to look for the first out possible to get Kyrie on another team.
It is pretty interesting to consider that the contracts of D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura are just enough to make an Irving trade happen at the deadline. NBA teams don’t stumble into coincidences like this and there is a reason why the Lakers agreed to the contracts that they agreed to.
So what would it take for it to get to this point? The Lakers would have to be failing to live up to expectations while still being in the mix for the playoffs. If injuries happen and there is no chance of winning anyway then this trade doesn’t happen. LA would have to be floating around the play-in for the team to make a move like this.
It would also take pressure from LeBron for this trade to happen. The Lakers probably aren’t making calls for Kyrie without pressure from LeBron.
It would also take a bad start for the Mavericks, which is the most likely thing to happen in this entire scenario. The team truly lacks depth even after its offseason additions and may realize come February that the better route is to surround Luka Doncic with depth and shotmakers, not another ball-dominant star.
This definitely is a fair price for Kyrie compared to the rest of the trade market. But does that make it a good trade? Let’s dive into the grades.