The possibility of Kyrie Irving being traded to the Lakers is picking up steam, and more and more it appears to be a case of when, not if.
For the second straight day, reports emerged that the Nets and Lakers have engaged in talks over a trade package that would get the disgruntled Irving out of Brooklyn and into a reunion with LeBron James. The deal would bring aging point guard Russell Westbrook and his hefty one-year contract to the Nets.
A league source told The Post any talk of a deal being close to done as premature. One reporter for The Athletic suggested Kendrick Nunn could be part of a larger deal, while another shot down the report altogether. Such is the chaos Kevin Durant’s trade demand has thrown the league into.
The basic parameters of a potential swap have been well known in league circles for some time, but Yahoo Sports — which cited “palpable optimism that an agreement can be struck between the two sides this offseason” — reported that the sticking points for the Nets were draft compensation and wanting Joe Harris to be included on the deal rather than Seth Curry.
Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook USA TODAY Sports (2)Curry is on a team-friendly $8.5 million expiring contract. Harris has two years and $38.6 million on his deal, and played just 14 games this past season because of multiple left ankle surgeries. The 30-year-old Harris is the last remaining Net from general manager Sean Marks’ first full campaign in 2016-17.
How the team dealt with Harris was always going to be the single biggest gauge for how they were going to handle rebuilding the team following the exits of Irving and Durant.
Keeping Harris would imply a retooling on the fly, but moving him was going to likely single a complete tearing down to the studs. If Harris is included in any Irving trade to the Lakers, fans should prepare for the latter. So even though the Nets are expected to sort out Durant’s trade request first before deciding where to send Irving, it’s still a situation that bears watching.
Marks and Nets owner Joe Tsai are going to be deliberate in any deal, especially with whatever Durant trade they execute likely to be complex and absolutely vital to kick-starting the rebuilding of the franchise from the ground up.
The report comes on the heels of another Friday by Legion Hoops that claimed the Lakers had offered Talen Horton-Tucker and their 2027 first-round pick.
Irving has long been intent on forcing his way to the Lakers to play alongside James, with whom he won the 2016 NBA championship for Cleveland. On Friday, Irving added fuel to the fire when he sent out a tweet with a cryptic GIF of the door on a cage opening and a bird escaping. Despite Irving’s tweet, any talks are still in the preliminary stages.
The 33-year-old Westbrook is on a clear decline. He will make $47 million in 2022-23, but likely would be in Brooklyn for just a season, if even that long.
He averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists this past season for the Lakers, but that was down from scoring 27.2 just two years ago — his last of nine All-Star campaigns.
