The Los Angeles Lakers took a chance when they acquired Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards last offseason. After making that move, many anticipated them being a title contender with the Brooklyn Nets being their likely NBA Finals matchup.
Fast forward a little bit, and there may not have been two teams that underachieved more in 2021-22 than the Lakers and Nets. Could both sides benefit from making a bold change?
Nobody would like to trade an individual talent like Kyrie Irving. He’s an incredible basketball player who has shown to be capable of making incredible plays in the biggest of moments. However, there is an element of unreliability in play that has concerned teams.
Irving is set to enter the final year of his current contract after exercising his $36.5 million final-year player option to return to the Nets. Brooklyn could still opt to move on from Irving in a trade to capitalize on his value now if they do not wish to re-enter contract talks next offseason.
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While most teams are weary of taking a chance on a trade for Irving, the Los Angeles Lakers are in a unique position to have it be the perfect gamble for them to take. The risk wouldn’t be whether it’s a basketball fit like the Westbrook trade. Instead, it would be about buy-in from Irving.
Let’s look at three bold multi-team trade packages that would feature Kyrie Irving landing with the Los Angeles Lakers:
