“That’s a Rob question.”
Mercurial Brooklyn Nets All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving pulled a fast one on his club this week, when he walked away from contract extension negotiations with his current team and requested to be traded.
Your Los Angeles Lakers, who have been interested in Irving since at least last summer, instantly became one of the top theoretical trade destinations for the controversial star. Unfortunately for LA’s title chances, the club lost out in the Irving sweepstakes earlier today to the Dallas Mavericks.
When asked directly last night if Irving specifically could be a good fit for the Lakers (my answer: on the floor, yes absolutely; off of it, no he’ll be a hilarious nightmare), LA All-Star power forward LeBron James offered up a fairly diplomatic response.
“That’s a [team vice president of basketball operations] Rob [Pelinka] question, you’ve got to see him when you all get back to LA,” James said. “I don’t speak for the front office. My mindset is that whatever lineup or whatever group that we have is to make sure that we prepare ourselves the best way we can and go out and win. Obviously that’s a ‘Duh’ [answer] when you talk about a player like that.”
James and Irving had a storied run with each other on the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014-17, along with fellow then-All-Star Kevin Love. That trio went to three straight NBA Finals together, all against the Golden State Warriors, winning a title in 2016. Irving demanded a trade (what a… surprise) from the team after its 2017 Finals appearance, a five-game defeat. Cleveland, with James, Love and role players, went back to the Finals anyway the next season sans Irving, where it would get swept against Golden State.
Now that Irving is off the board, the Lakers will need to turn elsewhere for improved depth this season.