“The LA Lakers have drawn a story in sand” Colin Cowherd believes Kyrie Irving and his agent have ‘INTENTIONALLY’ leaked the story of him staying in Brooklyn
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Colin Cowherd, Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook
Kyrie Irving is a sensational player offensively and is also capable of winning games on his own. Yet not many teams are interested in making move for the 30-year-old guard, citing his recent attitude towards the game and franchise. He finds himself involved in different trade scenarios despite opting into the final year of his contract, as the Brooklyn Nets want him out of the “poisoned” franchise, but they do not have many options to strike any profitable deal for him. Colin Cowherd recently said anonymous sources told him Irving doesn’t even want to leave the Nets. The analyst believes that Irving and his agent have leaked this narrative.
This could also be possible, as Kyrie has 1 guaranteed season left on his contract, and his agent would love to analyze his future situation should he be a free agent after the conclusion of his contract period. Also, Colin Cowherd believes that this is a desperate attempt to make over Kyrie’s reputation from his camp, after damaging it in a mere 2-3 seasons period.
“This is Kyrie and his agent saving face: Never wanted out, loves KD, loves the Nets,” Cowherd said. “Why did the story drop in the last 24 hours? Because the Lakers have drawn a line in the sand: ‘We’re not selling the farm for Kyrie. If he flames out, it’ll look really bad.'”
As per many reports, the Nets have been in trade talks with the LA Lakers, but it appears that their asking price for Irving is way too high for others to match at the given moment.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to have 1 more go at the Championship with Brooklyn Nets
Brooklyn Nets had the best 2019 season in terms of roaster rearrangement. They added two of the best offensive stars on the team through free agency, while cutting down their fringe players to balance the books. And after 3 seasons situation is the opposite, with both players looking for a change of scenarios, except that the Nets have more valuable assets and control over their trades than in 2019.
They may end up trading Irving since Kevin Durant has requested a trade. This way team might get something against the “want-away” star, rather than losing him for free. The Nets know they cannot depend on Irving, which is why he may be out, too.
But as of now, it seems 29 league teams including the Nets are not interested in Kyrie Irving, and LA Lakers are only possible to trade partner for them to deal with. Colin Cowherd claims that LA Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka refused to trade Russell Westbrook and two first-round picks for Kyrie Irving. Pelinka believes that Russell Westbrook and 1 future pick for Irving should complete the switch.
The 58-year-old analyst said about the former Rookie of the season, “The Nets don’t really want him. The Lakers want him, but they don’t want to give up much other than a bad Westbrook contract, and the other 29 teams in the league are saying, ‘Hard pass.’ That’s why this story broke.”
As for Kevin Durant’s situation, Brooklyn Nets want him to stay, but he requested a trade away after signing an extension with them last season. Many teams are interested in 2-time Finals MVP’s services, but the trade value set by the Nets is considerably high as for the franchise owners. This trade could also end up with just fuzz around it, and no concrete switch.
But things would not be as bad as it looks for the Nets, even if both trades wouldn’t materialize as per their expectations. There have been reports of the Nets wanting to keep both Durant and Irving if they don’t get suitable trade proposals.
They have 25-year-old and 3-time All-Star Ben Simmons, who hardly had played any game with two mega stars; also they have kept their sharpshooters like Seth curry, and Harris at the franchise, which could still provide them some chance at the championship in the 2023 season.
We will have to wait for any trade news for either of the stars till tip-off, and may also have different packages proposed and declined till then.
Also Read: Denver Nuggets acquire Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for $30 Million on 2-year contract
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Kunal Chawda
(600 Articles Published)