NBA executive on Lakers: ‘No one is scared of them if you swap out Russell Westbrook and put Kyrie on the team’

Over the 2022 NBA offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers seemed determined to try to acquire Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving.

There were rumors that the Lakers were angling for Irving before he opted into his player option, and after he opted in, there were countless trade rumors linking the one-time NBA champion to the storied franchise.

Obviously, a trade did not come to pass. However, the Lakers are still seen as a likely landing spot for Irving when he becomes a free agent next offseason.

Despite that, one NBA executive recently declared that even if the Lakers acquire Irving next summer, it won’t change much for the embattled franchise.

“But they’re probably going to look for the star, make another run at Kyrie Irving even though they don’t have the max to give him,” the executive told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney. “Though, no one is scared of them if you swap out Russell Westbrook and put Kyrie on the team.”

It is pretty surprising to learn that the Lakers adding Irving wouldn’t even strike fear into opposing teams, but it is a sign of just how bad things have gone for the Lakers up to this point in the 2022-23 season.

The simple fact is that aside from LeBron James and Anthony Davis, no one currently on the roster seems to really be fitting together to create a cohesive unit.

Truthfully, even James and Davis have been disappointing and underwhelming in their own ways so far this season.

Wednesday night’s loss to the Denver Nuggets was a very clear indication that the team’s failure to win a game thus far in the season cannot be wholly blamed on Russell Westbrook. Westbrook sat out Wednesday’s game with an injury, and the Lakers still got run out of the gym in a double-digit loss.

While adding Irving would give the Lakers another elite weapon, the talent up and down the roster is currently somewhat suspect.

The 2022-23 campaign is already starting to feel like a wash for the franchise that won an NBA title just two years ago. If general manager Rob Pelinka wants to create a real winner in the near future, he’s going to have to not only think about how to add star talent, but also find a way to add some genuine shooters to his roster.

Of course, that is far easier said than done.