LeBron James is clearly cooking something very special up in the wake of a trade request that sent shockwaves through the NBA.
With Thursday’s NBA Trade Deadline fast approaching, Kyrie Irving lobbed a grenade on Friday by requesting a trade from the Brooklyn Nets.
Even for a player of Irving’s obvious talent and ability, it is going to be hard to find a suitor before the trade deadline willing to make a move for him given the series of off-the-court dramas he has been involved in.
A genuine title contender may not currently have or want to trade the assets needed to secure Irving and would risk disrupting team harmony by making such a significant move.
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Meanwhile, a struggling team who may have the right package to trade for Irving is unlikely to be the best fit for the Nets superstar either given the risk involved.
Plus – it is hard seeing Irving sticking around very long at a team that is not a serious chance of contending for the title in the next few years.
There is one team that stands out though, the Los Angeles Lakers.
With the West wide-open and Anthony Davis finally fit and healthy, the Lakers have a genuine chance to make a serious playoff push and adding Irving could immediately vault them into contending for the championship.
NBA insider Shams Charania said on Saturday morning that the Lakers could be in the mix, although much of it will come down to whether a trade package centred around Russell Westbrook and the team’s two first-round picks will be enough.
“The Lakers are being very active for a trade overall in the market,” Charania said on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’.
“When you look at Russell Westbrook, you look at their two first-round picks, is that enough for Kyrie Irving? Do the Lakers make that offer? That’s something we’re going to have to track.”
He later reported that the Los Angeles Lakers could yet end up with some competition after all, with the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks emerging as “potential suitors” for Irving.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi also reported that Irving maintains an interest in the Lakers, although he hasn’t shared a list of preferred teams.
It is not the first time LeBron James and the Lakers have been linked to Irving, with the Lakers superstar reportedly pushing for the pair to link up in July last year.
LeBron doubled down on Saturday morning (AEDT) with a playful Twitter post that quickly broke the internet in the wake of Irving’s trade request going public.
The tweet, featuring a pair of eyes and a crown, quickly went viral with more than 13,000 retweets within an hour of James hitting publish.
NBA insider Marc Stein wrote at the time that a deal could be done as James looked to revive the duo’s collaboration that took the Cavaliers to an NBA title.
Stein said his confidence in a deal being reached last year “stems from repeated rumbles in circulation that LeBron James is rooting hard for Irving’s addition to the roster. James, I’m told, wants to see Irving in Lakerland more than anyone.”
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