The Lakers continue to focus on Kyrie Irving, but the Nets are unlikely to target him without at least a first-round pick in return, writes Marc Stein in his latest column for Substack. Irving was in Los Angeles this week to watch the WNBA Sparks, which Stein characterizes for making “strongly known his current presence in Los Angeles.”
While Irving would clearly like to reunite with former teammate LeBron James, Stein says the Lakers make no promise behind the scenes. General manager Rob Pelinka said Friday in a television interview that he is still working to improve the roster, but league rules prevent him from talking specifically about a possible deal for Irving.
The Lakers ’concern about overspending could be a major hurdle to making a change, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix explained on Ryen Rusillo’s podcast (hat advice to Eric Eulau from the SI Lakers page). While they are among the most valued teams in the NBA, Mannix says the Lakers are “a family organization posing as a multimillion-dollar franchise” and says they are reluctant to bear all the costs that would be needed. to convince Brooklyn to make a deal.
“There’s not much appetite in LA right now to take on all the money they’ll have to take on to be a deeper team in luxury taxes and in return opt for a first round,” Mannix said. “As long as that’s the asking price, the Lakers won’t get their hands on Kyrie Irving.”
There are more things about Los Angeles:
- Pelinka’s next priority will be to find more shooters, Stein adds in the same piece. The Lakers have been linked to Buddy Hield of the Pacers and Eric Gordon of the Rockets, who were clients of Pelinka when he was an agent.
- A source tells Stein that LA probably doesn’t have enough assets to get Hield and Myles Turner from Indiana. Reports have described them as “main goals” if the Lakers can’t reach an agreement for Irving.
- Stein adds that Pelinka’s willingness to meet Brooklyn’s price for Irving could be influenced by James ’upcoming extension date. Starting Aug. 4, James will be able to sign a two-year extension worth about $ 100 million, and Stein suggests Pelinka might want to have a major deal by then to make sure his star player is content.