According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets have gained no traction on a trade centered around Kyrie Irving.
Charania appeared on the “Pat McAfee Show” Tuesday to discuss NBA news and the Nets’ offseason storylines in light of Kevin Durant’s blockbuster trade request. His report comes three days after Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports reported that the Lakers and Nets are “actively engaged” in an Irving-Russell Westbrook trade package.
“There’s no traction on any type of a Lakers deal for Kyrie Irving,” Charania said. “There’s nothing new on that, and I’m not quite sure we’re gonna see that take place.”
It seemed as if Irving was committed to the Nets for the 2022-23 season after opting into his one-year player option last week, but the tables turned following Durant’s trade request.
Charania went on to say that Durant’s stance on a trade request has not changed, and there has been “no signal” that Durant will rescind his request. Charania noted, “if anything, that stance is expected to continue throughout this offseason.”
The NBA insider claimed the Nets are operating as if Durant and Irving will remain with the team next season. The Nets signed T.J. Warren and Edmond Sumner on Tuesday and re-signed Patty Mills and Nic Claxton during Thursday’s first day of free agency.
Brooklyn is “open” to dialogue with other teams but will not trade Durant until the price threshold of “All-Star-type players [and] a boat load of draft picks” is met, according to Charania.
Charania’s statements match the reporting of ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who appeared on SportsCenter Sunday to claim no traction between the Nets and Lakers on a deal surrounding Irving.
"The Lakers have yet, I'm told, to be aggressive in trying to put a deal together to get [Kyrie] from Brooklyn. That may come, that may evolve with time. But so far right now, there's no traction really on deals with either Irving or Durant."
@wojespnpic.twitter.com/ZtoOaiViPD
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) July 4, 2022
Wojnarowski insinuated that the Nets might remain patient in the cases of both Irving and Durant with the hope of receiving a better deal. While the Lakers and Nets seem to be on opposite sides, for the time being, a trade centered around Irving is certainly a possibility.
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