Six potential landing spots after Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving requests trade
Kyrie Irving requested a trade ahead of the Thursday’s deadline, adding intrigue to a potentially landscape-altering week in the league.
Irving, who was voted into the Feb. 19 All-Star Game as a starter, is in the final season of a four-year, $136.4 million contract and will be a free agent in the summer. Irving had wanted an extension with the Nets, but it appears the two sides could not find agreeable terms to a new deal.
Irving’s history aside – for a point guard who averages 27 points, five assists and five rebounds and is one of the league’s premier shotmakers. However, the team acquiring Irving must have some inclination that he will re-sign because no team will want to give up significant assets for a player who will explore free agency in July.
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NETS:Kyrie Irving wants trade before next week’s deadline
We look at potential landing spots for Irving:
Los Angeles Lakers
There was talk before the season of a deal that would send Irving to the Lakers. Is it time for the Lakers to revisit that? Los Angeles recently acquired Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards but remains another deal away from making a jump into solid playoff contender. A trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Irving forms a potent offense. The Lakers have been reluctant to trade their first-round pick in 2027 and 2029 but the idea of those three playing together for the next few seasons could alter the front office’s thinking. The Nets would likely have to take back Russell Westbrook’s expiring contract and send another player to make a deal work.
promotion of an anti-Semitic film earlier this season, this scenario seems unlikely for a team that suspended and traded Meyers Leonard for making an anti-Semitic comment while playing video games.