Analyst makes strong argument against Lakers pursuing Kyrie Irving

The infatuation, appeal and general idea of the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Kyrie Irving via trade is all understandable. Irving is a top talent with the legitimate upside to go off and score 50-plus points on any given night. He also has a rapport with LeBron James, which only adds to the speculation and intrigue when Irving's name is floated as an option for the Lakers.

But when realistically looking at the team, how the 2022-23 season played out and the options they may have oustide of Irving, the case against pursuing the All-Star point guard is potentially even stronger than the case for pursuing him.

While evaluating the debate over a potential trade to bring Irving to Los Angeles, Undisputed's Shannon Sharpe got brutally honest on the topic while citing last season as a key argument against making the move.

Sharpe stated that he gets "the infatuation with Kyrie Irving ... but at what cost?" while proceeding to point out that the Lakers and Rob Pelinka were "seduced" by the need for more stars. Another interesting aspect of his argument comes in his point about the Phoenix Suns with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

As Sharpe pointed out, both Booker and Durant were putting up big numbers during the 2023 NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets, but it didn't matter because the Suns lacked the depth to keep up with the Nuggets. It's a valid point and one that should resonate with Lakers fans, but the real argument starts and ends in Los Angeles with the sample seen from the franchise over the past two years.

The Lakers finished just 33-49 in 2021-22, their worst mark since 2016-17 and just two seasons removed from their championship in 2019-20. The 2021-22 season marked the first year after the team's trade to acquire Russell Westbrook. The Lakers also struggled out of the gate to open the 2022-23 season, starting the year 2-10 and eventually sending Westbrook out of town.

Starting after the trade and from the first game in which the Lakers deployed the players acquired via trade, the team went on to finish the year 18-8. The new-look Lakers parlayed that hot finish into a run to the Western Conference Finals and almost immediately gelled better than either any group from the previous year or the start of this 2022-23 season.

Realistically, whatever blame was placed on Russell Westbrook was less of a factor in the team's struggles than the Lakers' lack of depth due to the large-cap numbers going to their "big three" in LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Westbrook. The Lakers were simply a better group with depth and specifically, players coming off the bench who could impact games in a bigger way. This factor alone should be enough to make the Lakers opt not to pursue a trade for Irving, but instead build around depth and add more shooting to the mix as well.