If the Lakers want to reunite former Cleveland Cavaliers teammates LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in Los Angeles, they will have to give up Anthony Davis. According to ESPN’s NBA Insider Brian Windhorst, the Brooklyn Nets would only entertain trading Irving to the Lakers if Davis is involved in the deal.
Recent reports indicate that Irving and the Nets didn’t progress on contract negotiation, which will prompt the All-Star guard to opt-out of his contract and test the free agency. In this case, he will have a choice to sign with a team that has enough cap space to take him in or work with Brooklyn to execute the sign-and-trade deal.
Irving is reportedly considering the Lakers as one of his possible destinations, and the Nets would reportedly be willing to help him get there. However, they would require Davis to come to Brooklyn for that, further complicating the matter.
It is believed that the Lakers would like to land Irving but in a deal that would also see them offload struggling veteran guard Russell Westbrook. On the other hand, Davis is considered untouchable despite his recent health issues. The 29-year-old only played 76 games in the past two seasons, and his lack of availability was one of the reasons the Lakers missed the postseason in 2021-22.
