If the file is a little less talked about, the Lakers continue to try to attract Kyrie Irving according to several insiders. But here it is: GM Rob Pelinka refuses to give what would change everything. And as much to say that there is reason to ask questions as to the merits of this decision…
No doubt: there is a direct line between Los Angeles and Brooklyn this summer. In the city of angels, Russell Westbrook is no longer in the odor of holiness, and the purples and golds are not desperate to find a way to get rid of it before the start of the season. On the other side of the country, Kevin Durant has made known his desire to leave the Nets, and everything suggests that Kyrie Irving, not even present on the promotional posters of the franchise, will experience the same fate.
Kyrie in Los Angeles, what the Lakers refuse to give
Quite logically, discussions have therefore taken place between the two camps, but no agreement has been found so far. Why ? According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, it is a distant round of Draft which concentrates all the discord and which blocks the operation…
Jovan Buha on ESPNLA right now: Lakers don’t want to give up a 2nd first round pick. If Lakers were to give up a 2nd first Kyrie would be a Laker right now.
— Swiderman (@LeSwiderman) July 12, 2022
Jovan Buha: “The Lakers do not want to give a second first round of Draft. If they wanted to give it away, Kyrie would already be a Laker by now.”
The journalist adds that the Angelinos do not want to drop too big a package for a player who is not popular on the market, and who does not really arouse convincing interest from other franchises. For now, the Lakers are offering a first-round pick and a second-round pick, but the Nets want two first-round picks instead.
It should be remembered, however, that the Californian franchise has already mortgaged a large part of its draft picks capital in the Anthony Davis trade, and that if the purple & gold accede to the request of the Nets, they will have almost no advantage in matter for the decade to come. Rob Pelinka must thus decide between the famous “win-now”, with a Big Three articulated around Irving, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and also the sustainability of the franchise in the future.
In addition, Jovan Buha noted in the same intervention that the management of the Lakers had little taste of the coldness between the King and Russell Westbrook on the sidelines of a recent Summer League match. Management suspects Brodie has feelings for the Akron native, who they believe is plotting Kyrie’s arrival behind the scenes. Vibe…
Stuck with an underperforming Russell Westbrook and scrambled with LeBron James, the Lakers could get out of their misery by dropping another first-round Draft in Brooklyn. Will the front office end up pulling the trigger? Answer in the next few days… or the next few weeks.
