Lakers Would Be Wise to Avoid Kyrie Irving in Free Agency amid Latest NBA Rumors

For much of the 2022-23 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers were linked to then-Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving. When he formally requested a trade ahead of the in-season deadline, the Lakers made their offer.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Los Angeles offered Russell Westbrook, 2027 and 2029 first-round picks, but Brooklyn also wanted young talent like Austin Reaves and Max Christie.

The Nets instead dealt Irving to the Dallas Mavericks, while the Lakers pivoted to a different trade package. Los Angeles instead traded Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and a 2027 first-round pick in a three-team deal to acquire D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt.

In some ways, this was a better trade for the Lakers than an Irving deal, since it allowed the franchise to address multiple needs instead of just one. However, it may not be enough to salvage L.A.'s season and get the team into the playoffs—LeBron James' foot injury and extended absence, of course, have a lot to do with that.

With the season winding down and free agency on the not-too-distant horizon, it's fair to wonder if Los Angeles should make another run at Irving, this time on the open market.

According to The Athletic's Jovan Buha, the Lakers are more interested in keeping their new-look core together than pursuing the 30-year-old again.

"From what I've been told by my sources around the organization, they wanted to run this situation back," Buha told Michael Scotto of the HoopsHype podcast. "... From what I've been told, they're not going to be pursuing Kyrie Irving this offseason."

This is a logical stance for the Lakers to take, especially if, as rumored, they're interested in retaining pieces like Rui Hachimura, Beasley and Russell. The latter two names appear to be the top priorities.

"From what I've heard, Lakers executive Rob Pelinka has had interest in Beasley for a while, and this could be more than just a short-term thing since he has a $16.5 million team option for next season," Scotto said.

"They looked at D'Angelo Russell as someone who could be their point guard of the future and potentially that lead ball handler and third-star type of guy that could fit around Anthony Davis and LeBron," Buha added.

The Lakers would reportedly prefer to keep Hachimura, but only if the price is right. According to Buha, they want to keep the 25-year-old but perhaps not if the impending restricted free agent gets an offer of more than $10 million per year.

Even if the new-look roster doesn't reach the playoffs this year, it has already established some obvious chemistry under head coach Darvin Ham. To be fair, we don't have a clear idea of how it could work with James long-term because of his absence, but this has looked like a solid group to build around for the 2023-24 season.

Adding Irving could throw off the squad's chemistry and/or make it incredibly difficult to retain the players L.A. wants to keep. While there's always a chance that Irving could sign a team-friendly deal in order to chase a ring with former Cleveland Cavalier teammate James, he figures to be quite pricey in free agency.

Dallas can offer Irving a two-year, $78.6 million extension.

Signing Irving would likely mark the end of Russell's tenure as L.A.'s point guard. It could also price the Lakers out of Hachimura, Austin Reaves (restricted free agent) and Dennis Schröder.

And while Irving is a terrific scorer, he doesn't fill the need Los Angeles has for strong perimeter shooting and low-post depth around Davis and James. The current group does, and the Lakers have an opportunity to keep a well-fitting group together for a second and complete season.

The idea of building a Big Three of James, Davis and Irving is intriguing, but so was the James, Davis and Westbrook experiment.

The Lakers will be better served by building a complementary roster and avoiding Irving altogether in free agency.