Report: 'High-ranking people' believe Kyrie Irving to the Lakers isn't off the table

Irving opted into his $37 million player option on his contract Monday night to presumably stay with the Brooklyn Nets next season. This came hours after it was reported that the Nets had granted the seven-time All-Star permission to sign-and-trade offers from other teams.

It was further reported on Monday that people "very close to the situation" believed that Irving was trying to join the Lakers and LeBron James was "very open to the possibility." ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski also reported that there were no known teams outside of the Lakers that were planning pursuit of sign-and-trades for Irving.

"Normal people keep the world going, but those who dare to be different lead us into tomorrow," the former No. 1 overall pick said, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. "I've made my decision to opt in. See you in the fall."

The 30-year-old point guard joined Brooklyn in 2019 as a free agent shortly after the team added Kevin Durant. James Harden was traded to the Nets in January 2021, giving the Nets what was widely considered the best "Big Three" in the NBA.

Despite the load of talent, the group failed to reach an NBA Finals, first falling to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2021 and then being swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2022 playoffs.