Reports continue to swirl that Kyrie Irving might be on his way to the Los Angeles Lakers, with a trade involving him and Russell Westbrook apparently in the works.
There is still a lot of time left in the offseason. But the Lakers organization is reportedly optimistic that a swap between the two former All-Stars could be finalized “as early as Sunday.”
“I was told that atleast from the Lakers side that there was some optimism about having momentum towards getting something done here in the near future potentially as early as Sunday.”
–@IanBegley on Kyrie for Russ swappic.twitter.com/ZVR5AelrJk
— Audel Del Toro (@CantBeatAudel) July 3, 2022
If the deal pushes through, Lakers superstar LeBron James would be reunited with his old running mate from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Their partnership produced plenty of success, as the Cavs made four consecutive NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018. They won a title in 2016.
Adding Irving to the Lakers roster could definitely give the team a needed boost. L.A. has failed to make some noise in the playoffs since winning the championship in the 2019-20 campaign. The franchise lost in the first round of the 2021 playoffs and missed the playoffs altogether in the 2021-22 season after placing 11th in the Western Conference.
It was quite a disappointing run for the Lakers after they acquired Westbrook during the 2021 offseason in hopes of becoming title contenders again.
The team’s lack of success can be attributed to injuries as several players missed a significant number of games last season. However, chemistry issues also clearly hounded the Lakers when their top players were healthy.
Irving, on the other hand, has shown an ability to play well with James. Only time will tell if the seven-time NBA All-Star will indeed be playing for the Purple and Gold this coming season.
