While all the attention right now is where the Brooklyn Nets will trade Kevin Durant, there is another gigantic trade the Nets seem primed to pull off at some point this summer. Kyrie Irving, despite picking up his player option for 2022-23, reportedly wants to leave Brooklyn, too, putting the Nets in a position where they have two disgruntled stars and a whole lot of phone calls they need to take.
One destination has popped up for Irving all summer long: the Los Angeles Lakers. And according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the Lakers and Nets are “actively engaged” in discussion for a trade that will send Irving to Los Angeles and Russell Westbrook to Brooklyn. While he reports that there is “palpable optimism” something can be figured out sometime in the coming weeks, Haynes reports there are conversations happening around other players who can be packaged in the deal.
Draft compensation is an ongoing talking point for the Nets and they want shooting guard Joe Harris — who is recovering from left ankle surgery — and his remaining $38.6 million owed over the next two years included in the deal, sources said.
The Lakers have been disinclined to the inclusion of Harris, and are instead seeking the insertion of sharpshooter Seth Curry as part of the arrangement, sources said.
It goes without saying, but Irving and either sharpshooter would be a sensational fit around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, while the Nets appear focused on adding to their collection of draft picks which were largely cleaned out in the trade they made to bring James Harden to Brooklyn.