The Los Angeles Lakers are staring elimination in the face with a 3-0 deficit in the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets, but Brian Windhorst of ESPN indicated that the Lakers could add Kyrie Irving in free agency while keeping Austin Reaves in an appearance on The Hoop Collective podcast.
“It would take a little bit of maneuvering, and Kyrie would probably have to not take the max, or they would have to work on something with Dallas, but they can get there,” Brian Windhorst said, via The Hoop Collective podcast. “They can keep Reaves and get Kyrie, if they make that a priority. They risk going right back to where they were before, which is a top-heavy team.”
"It would take a little bit of maneuvering… but [The Lakers] can get there. They can keep [Austin] Reaves & get Kyrie [Irving]… The way this is ending, it's increasing the chances of it happening."
Brian Windhorst on the Hoop Collective Podcastpic.twitter.com/KUjMOLS4jP
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 21, 2023
It will be interested to see where Kyrie Irving ends up next season. Despite likely losing to the Nuggets in the Western Conference Final, the Lakers took a big leap in the middle of the season when they acquired depth pieces in Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura. That is something that Windhorst expressed in the podcast appearance.
The Lakers will have to weigh if they want to add Irving and form a big three with him, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, or pass on Irving and continue to build a strong roster. That will be something worth watching for this offseason, and a key component to all of this is whether Irving wants to join the Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly trying to keep Irving alongside Luka Doncic, and there has been speculation that Irving would want to play with the Phoenix Suns.