“Le GM back in action again” LeBron James wants Lakers to sacrifice draft picks for Kyrie Irving deal prior to 2022-23 season
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Why did Los Angeles Lakers need a new coach, when they have Lebron James to make all the shots! The legendary Laker’s stalwart is back to favoring his own needs, instead of looking at what the team needs, as he is pushing for a reunion with Kyrie Irving which would lead to the Lakers sacrificing draft picks to prioritize that deal. Several reports have revealed that the Lakers are the only teams seriously pursuing Irving. But the asking price from the Nets might be too much even if Irving wants to be a Laker.
The Lakers are getting all the limelight this postseason, as they get to work with the newly appointed, Darvin Ham as their new Head Coach for the 2022-2023 season. The Los Angeles Lakers star-studded team not making into the playoffs was and has been one of the biggest talking points in and around the world of NBA. With One of the All-Time Greats, Lebron James himself, and two future Hall of Famers in Anthony Davis and freshly traded, Russell Westbrook, the Lakers looked scary on paper, not so much on court.
“I can’t articulate how little LeBron cares about the Lakers” – NBA Community erupts on Lebron James’s selfish decision to bring Kyrie to LA, by giving up multiple draft picks.
With multiple speculations around his time at the Lakers, We’ve got to wait a few months to know whether the 4x Champ stays and gets another attempt for the Lakers’ 18th title or he gets traded. The Lakers have a proud winning history, but that desire to always be in contention may have just backfired after the 2021-22 season that saw them miss the playoffs. It’s already the second time in four years since LeBron arrived that they failed to make it to the postseason, and until they bring in some drastic changes, they aren’t gonna make it next year too.
Lebron James played a big role in building this team and he got exactly what he wanted, he got involved in personnel decisions last year, favoring Westbrook over DeMar DeRozan. The whole Russell Westbrook trade is still a giant head-scratcher. The Lakers had a pretty solid bench that was traded away for Westbrook. General Manager Rob Pelinka appeased Lebron James by getting Russel Westbrook and trading away Kuzma and KCP, which added to their problems even more.
The Westbrook trade was his Brainchild and it has not worked out inn any manner or form, now the reports of Kyrie to Lakers have emerged with Lebron James pushing for a reunion with Kyrie Irving. This has led to a lot of people losing faith in Lebron’s selfless nature, as they slam him for pushing for Kyrie, despite the Lakers being in a precarious position, with 3 superstars on the team already.
While ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said Thursday on “Get Up he “can’t articulate how little LeBron cares about the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick. On “What’s Wright with Nick Wright,” Wright said he believes the delay due to draft picks is poor management from the Lakers’ front office.
“From this very moment until the end of time, as of now, the Lakers are minus one first-round pick. They owe either their 2024 or 2025 first-round pick to New Orleans. That is it. There are 19 teams in the league that are minus one or more future first-round picks.” said Nick
Even while Kyrie Irving has decided to opt into his $36.5 million player option for the 2022-23 season, thus delaying his free agency for another year. Brooklyn has reportedly been unwilling to offer Irving a full max extension without financial concessions from Irving, like incentives or non-guaranteed years. However, he can still join the Lakers by opting out of the last year on his contract and signing for them through their $6 million taxpayer midlevel exception or picking up his player option and having L.A. and Brooklyn engineer a trade that would send him to California.
If you’re the Lakers, you want to do whatever you can to protect and preserve the future. With young guns like Talen Horton-Tucker and Austin Reaves, they have players to develop, which can help give them options going forward. With the few draft picks they still control, the Lakers also have some assets to work with that can help pull them out of the gutter if things get ugly in a few years
The Lakers had a drastically poor record of 33-49 , as they move on from this nightmarish season , they will have to make plenty of moves to get back on track. As LeBron gets ready for the upcoming season, the team will have to give him more reinforcements to bring back the legacy of the Lakers. Moreover, he has to solve the disparities between him and the management to ensure a smooth season where he can focus on the court more, rather than off it.
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Aditya Minocha
(216 Articles Published)