Kyrie Irving requests trade, Mavericks, Lakers, Suns expected to talk with Nets

Feb 4, 2023 - 4:46 AM
Graphic via Zain Fahimullah / Silver Screen and Roll




Former (and possibly future) Lakers trade target Kyrie Irving is, for the second time in less than a year, seeking a trade away from the Brooklyn Nets, according to multiple media reports on Friday.

Irving and his agent/stepmom have been publicly agitating for an extension with the Nets for weeks, and given that it sounds like the Nets were for some reason unwilling to commit to a player even though he’s gone like, four whole weeks without tweeting anything antisemitic or refusing to get a vaccine, he is now reportedly telling them to trade him or he'll leave in free agency:

Veteran NBA insider Marc Stein reportedly shortly afterward that the Dallas Mavericks and Lakers are expected to talk with the Nets about a deal for Irving:

Shams Charania of The Athletic added the Suns to that mix:

For what it’s worth, last time the Mavericks were linked to Kyrie, a member of the organization texted Tim MacMahon of ESPN a “profane reply” when asked about their interest. ESPN confirmed on Friday that Irving is still interested in going to Los Angeles, and that the Mavs and Lakers both have some level of reluctant interest:

How hard will Los Angeles chase World B. Flat this time? The two sides were engaged over the summer, but the last we heard on it, the Lakers were proudly patting themselves on the back anonymously for not offering him a long-term deal last summer in the wake of his infamous tweet promoting an antisemitic documentary.

But Kyrie has played better since then, and the Lakers under Rob Pelinka have a long history of interest in players with a wide variety of off-court issues. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that Irving is a proud Kobe Bryant disciple, something Pelinka — Bryant’s former agent and best friend — has seemed to value in transactions.

That’s all why it seemed like more a matter of “when” than “if” before we heard definitive reports that the Lakers were involved here.

Thankfully Feb. 9 is only a few days away, but by the sound of this, we all need to fasten our seatbelts until then. And for some context on Irving’s situation from Matt Brooks of Nets Daily, check out the tweets below.

This breaking news story will update with more information and analysis as it continues to develop.








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