Lakers Must Get Aggressive After Missing Out on Kyrie Irving Amid Trade Rumors

LeBron James is only 36 points away from breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA all-time points record. As fans count down the points to the historic achievement, the Los Angeles Lakers are counting down the days to a different moment.

At 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, the 2022-23 trade deadline will pass. When it does, the Lakers will be short on options for improving the current roster, limited to street free agents and contract buyouts.

If the Lakers, who sit at 25-29, have any hope of making a championship run this season, they have to add another significant piece to their lineup. They tried over the weekend, making a serious run at the Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving.

According to SNY's Ian Begley, the Lakers had an offer of sixth man Russell Westbrook and a first-round pick on the table for Irving. However, James' former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks instead.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, there was "mutual interest" between L.A. and Irving, while the Lakers were "operating as a motivated suitor."

The mutual interest is unsurprising, as James and Irving won a championship together in Cleveland. A big three of James, Irving and Anthony Davis would be tremendous and perhaps good enough to lift L.A. from the Western Conference basement and into the title picture.

Make no mistake: Losing out on Irving hurts. But if the Lakers hope to make a run this season, Rob Pelinka and the front office must quickly regroup and become motivated suitors for another shooting talent.

And if the Lakers are motivated, it's time to start getting aggressive with their trade offers.

Los Angeles has been better in recent weeks. Davis is healthy again, James is playing at an All-Star level, and Westbrook has become a quality role player under rookie head coach Darvin Ham. Last month's trade for Rui Hachimura has helped as well, as Hachimura is averaging 11.3 points and shooting 46.4 percent from the floor in L.A.

Yet, the Lakers remain two games behind the Utah Jazz, who would hold the final play-in spot if the season ended today. It would behoove Los Angeles to add another quality shooter who can take advantage of the spacing that James and Davis create in the starting lineup.

Irving would have been ideal because of his shooting prowess and ability to create his own shot. However, a quality three-point specialist would serve as a fine consolation prize before the deadline. One way or another, L.A. must add another piece, and the Lakers know that.

"The belief within the Lakers' organization is that they need to make at least one more move by the Feb. 9 trade deadline to give themselves a legitimate shot at competing for a championship, sources say," Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes wrote last week.

The Lakers have options and potential targets. Haynes mentioned Detroit Pistons shooter Bojan Bogdanović, though he admitted that the price could be prohibitive:

"Bogdanović remains a principal target, but there is league-wide skepticism on whether the Pistons are really willing to unload the nine-year veteran. It's been reported that it would take at least an unprotected first-round pick to get the Pistons' attention."

Utah Jazz point guard Malik Beasley could also be available, according to Haynes.

"Rival executives tell Bleacher Report they believe the Utah Jazz have a team—or multiple teams—willing to offer a first-round pick for shooting guard Malik Beasley," Haynes wrote.

The problem for Los Angeles is that it doesn't have a ton of trade capital. The Lakers have been willing to trade Westbrook all season but have been reluctant to part with their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks—and according to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer, teams want both first-rounders if they're going to take on the rest of Westbrook's contract.

In a perfect world, Los Angeles might get a player like Bogdanović for one first-round pick while keeping Westbrook as a valuable bench piece. If the Lakers want to chase a title, however, they must be willing to make a less-perfect offer.

The Jazz, for example, appear to be one of the teams still willing to acquire Westbrook, and while the move could be costly for L.A., it might net the Lakers Beasley.

"One of the possible trade destinations for Westbrook, Utah, also remains a major catalyst ahead of the deadline," Fischer wrote. "Any deal that sends Westbrook to the Jazz would almost certainly include veteran point guard Mike Conley, wing shooter Malik Beasley and forward Jarred Vanderbilt."

If the Lakers believe that this player swap can put them in title contention, they need to act quickly to make the deal happen before another franchise moves in.

"Sources told Yahoo Sports that Utah's front office has discussed various deals across the league with each of those three players," Fischer wrote.

If Los Angeles continues to make middling offers, it will be left without viable trade targets and staring down a lost season.

Perhaps Pelinka and/or other members of the Lakers organization are OK with that. An argument could be made that Los Angeles can't be a championship contender even with players like Bogdanović or Conley and Beasley on the roster. Westbrook will be off the books in the offseason, and L.A. could gear up for a stronger run next season—at least, theoretically.

However, the fact remains that a stronger run is not guaranteed. James is 38 years old and still playing like one of the league's best. Will that be the case when he's 39? Will Davis, who has battled injuries since arriving in L.A. be healthy next season? Will Los Angeles even be able to find better options in the free-agent and trade markets?

There's no way to be certain. What is certain is that the Lakers are wasting what could be one of the last great years of James' career. If they want to change that, they must be willing to make aggressive trade offers strong enough to entice teams to flip the switch on a deal.

And the Lakers must act quickly because the clock is ticking.