Despite the fact that Kyrie Irving decided to pick up his player option with the Brooklyn Nets for the upcoming season, it seems inevitable that he will end up leaving the team sooner or later. Kevin Durant's bombshell announcement about his desire to be traded further puts Kyrie's future with the Nets into question, and it is clear that LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are keeping a keen eye on all the developments in Brooklyn.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has just dropped a major update with regard to Kyrie and his supposed move to Hollywood. According to Smith, Irving is adamant that he's going to end up with the Lakers:
“Kyrie Irving is telling everybody he plans on going to LA meaning the Lakers, as soon as he possibly can,” Smith revealed, via ClutchPoints on Twitter. “The likelihood is that he'll likely go through this season, and then when he becomes a free agent after this upcoming season is over, he plans on rejoining LeBron James in a Lakers uniform.”
"Kyrie Irving is telling everybody he plans on going to LA meaning the Lakers, as soon as he possibly can… When he becomes a free agent after this season is over, he plans on rejoining LeBron James in a Lakers uniform."@stephenasmith on Kyrie Irving 👀pic.twitter.com/W3FYbAMX3w
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 30, 2022
The big caveat here is that this move does not look like it will happen this summer. The fact that Kyrie has opted into his deal with the Nets for the upcoming season puts the Lakers in a very difficult situation to try and trade for him now. However, it appears that Irving just intends to play out his final year in Brooklyn with the intention of jumping ship as soon as he can.
Stephen A also reports that after this season, the Lakers will have around $70 to $80 million in cap space, which they intend to use on Kyrie Irving. If all goes according to plan, Kyrie will be reunited with LeBron in LA come the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
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