Report: High-ranking people believe Kyrie Irving joining the Lakers could still be on the table

By Jason Simpson
Updated: June 28, 2022

Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Rumors connecting star guard Kyrie Irving to the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t over yet.

According to NBA insider Brian Windhorst, there are still some “high-ranking people” in the league who believe that Irving landing with Los Angeles could still happen.

“I know that there are people in the league, and we’re not talking about ancillary people, we’re talking about high-ranking people, who believe that this is not done,” Windhorst said. “I don’t know. Let me just say this about the Lakers. He obviously was very interested in joining the Lakers. The Lakers were very interested in having him.”

On Monday, Irving decided to exercise his $36.5 million option with the Brooklyn Nets for the 2022-23 season. Many assumed that the news killed any chance of him making his way to Los Angeles. However, it sounds like the door isn’t closed yet.

It’s unclear how the Lakers would add the 30-year-old at this point, as there are obvious obstacles in the way.

Controversy has followed Irving throughout his career, but there’s no doubt that he’d make a big impact for the Lakers. Los Angeles, of course, is looking to improve this summer after its wildly disappointing 2021-22 season.

Irving is coming off a campaign in which he appeared in just 29 regular season games due to the fact that he’s unvaccinated. When he was on the floor, he played at a high level, averaging 27.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per contest.

Irving won an NBA title with Lakers superstar LeBron James in 2016 when the two players were teammates on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ultimately, only time will tell if the two stars end up as teammates again.