The Los Angeles Lakers have been working tirelessly to improve their roster after the underwhelming 2021-22 NBA season. The biggest improvement that the team needs is to have a guard that will complement the game of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Last season, they tried it with Russell Westbrook, but it did more harm than good to the Lakers. No offense to Brodie, he is a good player, but he is only good when he has the ball in his hands. Which obviously didn't happen with LeBron handling the ball for the Lakers last season.
Additionally, even without handling the ball, Russ had a very bad season as he struggled to shoot well and keep his turnovers down for the entire year. Keeping that in mind, the Lakers have consistently been linked to Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving.
With Kevin Durant demanding a trade, it's obvious that Kyrie also wants to leave a rebuilding team. The Lakers seem to be the perfect location for the 1x NBA champion. Moreover, it is obvious that the Lakers are interested in trading for him. Despite mutual interest from both parties, a trade is yet to be completed.
One might wonder what's taking it so long for both teams to strike out a deal? Well, as per NBA insider Jovan Buha, the Lakers do not want to add another first-round pick to their trade package for Russell Westbrook.
(Starts at 30:37):
"I think in any Russ trade, it's gonna require draft compensation. From what I've been told, the Lakers do not want to give up that second first-round pick. I think if they were willing to do two first-round picks, Kyrie would be a Laker right now."
It has often been reported that LeBron James is pushing the Lakers to acquire Kyrie Irving. After all, the King wants to reunite with his former teammate and have a realistic chance at winning the NBA Championship next season.
So much so that NBA insider Brian Windhorst believes James also wants the Lakers to sacrifice their future draft picks. But it seems obvious the Lakers aren't a fan of that idea. Otherwise, they could have sent two future first-round draft picks and already have Kyrie Irving on the roster.
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