Over the summer, the Los Angeles Lakers were wishing that the Brooklyn Nets would accept a trade offer of Russell Westbrook and draft capital for Kyrie Irving, their seven-time All-Star guard.
Such a trade could’ve instantly made the Lakers championship contenders again, but Brooklyn said no, as Irving and Kevin Durant seemingly recommitted themselves to their team.
Now, with the Nets at 7-9 and Irving serving an extended suspension after promoting an anti-Semitic film on Twitter, there has been renewed trade chatter surrounding him.
Some of that chatter has naturally involved the Lakers, but according to NBA insider Chris Haynes, there is very little interest in him around the league in general.
“I can’t sit here and lie to you and say that there is much value in trading for Kyrie,” Haynes said. “I’m on the phones with a lot of teams. His name is not really coming up, even for the Los Angeles Lakers, who he was tied to for much of the offseason. That’s just not something I’m hearing right now.”
There is no doubt that Irving is an incredible talent and a player who can single-handedly change a team’s fortunes. However, given his antics and incidents over the last few years, is he worth the headache, especially considering that the Lakers also see themselves as a class organization?
