Earlier this week, Kyrie Irving informed the Brooklyn Nets that he wants to be traded by the upcoming February 9 deadline. In light of Irving’s request to leave the franchise, NBA fans and insiders are speculating where he will go next.
Currently, the Los Angeles Lakers have been holding onto their future draft picks. The Athletic noted that the Lakers decided not to use their remaining tradeable first-round picks when it was speculated that they wanted to be involved in the Indiana Pacers dealings with Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. It is likely that the franchise was holding out for ball-handling superstar, Irving, to become available by February 9.
Just last month, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka said, “If there’s an opportunity to get all the way to the end and win a championship, there’s no resource we’ll hold onto if we feel like that’s there.” On Saturday, after the Lakers’ 131-126 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, James spoke to reporters who asked about whether or not Irving’s addition to the team would make them a stronger contender for a championship. He said,
“That’s a Rob question. You got to see him when y’all get back to L.A. I’ve told y’all a couple weeks, I don’t speak for our front office.
My mindset is whatever lineup or whatever group that we have is to make sure we prepare ourselves the best way we can to go out and win. Obviously, that’s a…what’s the word you use…’duh’ question when you talk about a player like that.”
It appears that James is not opposed to bringing on Irving to the Lakers. The duo played together for three NBA seasons between 2014 and 2017 when James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. It remains to be seen where Irving will go following the deadline next week.
There were some talks on a new deal for Irving, but no deal was reached and a trade request was delivered to the organization today, sources tell ESPN. Irving can leave the franchise this summer as a free agent. https://t.co/vnNWbUW56S
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 3, 2023
LeBron James on if Kyrie Irving is the type of player that can help the Lakers get to the finish line: pic.twitter.com/EAbcLtcPjB
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 5, 2023
In other sports news, someone is selling sand from Tom Brady’s retirement announcement spot for nearly $100K USD.
