“There is no movement..it’s not going to happen” NBA Insider rules out Lakers giving up 2 picks for Pacers duo over Kyrie Irving
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Possible big -3 at Los Angeles Lakers - LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis
Los Angeles Lakers are making trades very cautiously right now. They don’t seem to overpay in terms of assets for any star and their recent activities just prove the same. The decision to give away a second first-round pick has stopped the LA Lakers’ negotiations with the Brooklyn Nets over Kyrie Irving. Lakers were considered the only team in contention for Kyrie, and had a strong desire to reunite him with LBJ, but decided to keep their pick rather. Basically many rumors suggest that the Lakers kept those picks to sign the Indiana Pacers duo Buddy Hield and Myles Turner.
Sams Charania recently gave negative report on the Kyrie Irving trade. He said, “There’s no traction on any type of a Lakers deal for Kyrie Irving…There’s nothing new on that, and I’m not quite sure we’re going to see that take place.” Many eyes are now set on the possible double swoop from the Pacers.
But NBA insider Robert Guerra thinks otherwise. On The Odd Couple with Chris Broussard and Rob Parker, the topic of the Lakers’ unwillingness to give away a second first-round pick was brought up. Fans who called in think the franchise might be willing to give it up to get Hield and Turner, but Guerra countered the view as he said, “There is no scenario where the Lakers decide we would rather offer 2 first-round picks for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner and not offer 2 first-round picks for Kyrie Irving.”
Los Angeles Lakers have very minimal trade assets and they want to use them wisely to fill up their roster with talent around Anthony Davis and LeBron James. They have been linked to sharpshooter Buddy Hield from last season and would be looking to finally land him this season. In addition, rim protector Myles Turner is up for grab, which would bolster the Lakers’ front court and allow them to maximize LBJ’s playmaking.
Robert Guerra values Kyrie Irving more than the Pacers duo at the Los Angeles Lakers
After a poor show in the 2022 season, the Lakers worked round the clock to make perfect balance in their roster. LeBron would be playing his final season with the Lakers, and in order to extend his stay, the LA team needs to prove them again, maybe like the 2020 Championship. But Fans are distraught at the fact that the Lakers are yet to improve their squad ahead of next season.
Lakers looked certain to add former Rookie of the year Kyrie Irving to their ranks and also get rid of failed Russell Westbrook in the process. But the Nets demanded future picks, which halted the deal. Despite reports of LeBron James not caring about the draft picks, the front office has stood their ground in not leveraging their future to win now.
Guerra gave the same example to counter the idea of using draft picks for the Pacers duo. He said, “That’s just not gonna happen because say what you want about Kyrie and his availability issues and him being mercurial guy, to say the least, Kyrie on your team with LeBron and AD raises your ceiling in a way that the other two just do not.”
Adding Buddy Hield and Myles Turner will be a significant boost for the Lakers. But 2016 champion Irving brings something entirely different – especially after his proven history with LeBron James. He certainly is a special talent that could elevate the Lakers and maybe even win their 18th title right in 2023.
But Robert keeping it realistic, said, “I’m not saying that they’d be the favorites to win the championship but it’s not even close. If you have those three versus LeBron, AD, and the two Pacers guys, it’s not comparable.”
If we analyze the Lakers’ last 2 seasons, they hardly had a chance to put their strongest team on the floor for more than 10 games in a row. Westbrook’s experiment might have failed last season, but Darvin Ham is a very capable coach turning water into wine, and he even showed a positive attitude towards utilizing the 2-time scoring champion in the maximum possible way.
Contractually also, LeBron and Russell Westbrook are entering into the final year of their contracts, and the team would be built around Anthony Davis if they don’t commit to the post-2023 projects. Perhaps the reason for the Lakers not wanting to go all out is their wish for Anthony Davis to have a great season as well.
With 8-time All-Star AD, the Lakers believe they stand a great chance of competing for the title. New head coach Darvin Ham said the three-time block champion is a top-five talent in the league and is the key to their season.
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Kunal Chawda
(600 Articles Published)