ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski thinks the Lakers will made a deal or two this offseason, even if it’s not for Kyrie Irving.
The worst kept secret in the NBA is the Lakers desire to land Nets guard Kyrie Irving. Rumors have swirled over the last several weeks, ever since Kevin Durant requested a trade from Brooklyn, but at the moment, the chatter has cooled considerably surrounding the Lakers trading for Kyrie.
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Despite the Kyrie stalemate, there’s still a few quality players that are available that could improve the Lakers roster.
In a recent appearance on ESPN’s Get Up, NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski noted three other names the Lakers are exploring:
“It may not be for Kyrie Irving, it may not be for an All-NBA player, an All-Star… players like Eric Gordon in Houston, Buddy Hield in Indiana, players like Patrick Beverly who came to the Jazz in a trade from Minnesota who are role players on winning teams. What is the price for those kinds of moves? They’re going to continue to be active on those things.”
Woj highlighted the fact that his intel is that the Lakers are going to make a trade this summer.
“I think the Lakers will make a deal, maybe more than one deal.”
Various reports have stated that the Lakers are resistant to the idea of including their first-round picks in potential trade scenarios.
Problem is, aside from their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks, the Lakers trade assets aren’t overly appetizing. Kendrick Nunn ($5.25M) missed all of last year with a knee injury. Talen Horton-Tucker ($10.26M) is grossly overpaid, and Russell Westbrook is owed a whopping $47.1M.
Despite all of that, it sounds like the Lakers will still be trying to wheel and deal this offseason.
