The non-LeBron minutes were always an issue for the Lakers going back to his first year in LA and the championship season… This is my third season on the beat, and this is the best chemistry and vibes I’ve seen around the team.įrom what I’ve been told, they’re not going to be pursuing Kyrie Irving this offseason… To my knowledge and to what I’ve been told, the Kyrie ship, I think, has sailed. That’s something that’s kind of been under-discussed. They’ve done a lot of winning without LeBron James. When it got to the point that Brooklyn was basically asking for every tradeable asset, they felt it was too much, given all the uncertainty that comes with Kyrie and the way things have played out the last few years.įrom what I’ve been told by my sources around the organization, they wanted to run this situation (current roster) back. As I reported around the trade deadline, they were interested in Kyrie and made what they felt was a competitive offer. It certainly seems like they’re pivoting away from that type of move with Kyrie when you look ahead toward the offseason - and you look at his future - whether that’s in Dallas or somewhere else. ![]() It seems like with a lot of these moves, and I’m also talking about the acquisition of Rui Hachimura and giving up the three second-round picks to get him, he’s going to be a restricted free agent. Scotto: You heard a lot of stuff about LeBron wanting Kyrie Irving at a certain point, and publicly he defended him (amid Nets suspension). Spoiler alert: That’s going to get fully guaranteed. ![]() On our HoopsHype salaries page for the Lakers, only $300,000 of that is guaranteed. Next year, he’s only going to cost $4.7 million. Scotto: Jarred Vanderbilt is an incredible value for them. The pieces they added are complementary to LeBron and AD. He was basically recruited there in the media by Paul George, Ty Lue, and some of the other players in the locker room.įor the Lakers, they were able to flip him for basically three starters and really upgrade the rotation, depth, and some shooting, as we saw against the Pelicans, where they hit a franchise-record 15 threes in the first half. Russ has now gone to a better situation with the Clippers where he fits in. I think for both sides, there was a sense of relief, let’s go our separate ways, and we’re both going to be better off. I don’t think he loved the rumors and the negative attention that he was having to face. Westbrook is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. ![]() Then, it became: is it going to be the trade deadline or the offseason? I think that kind of hung over the Lakers’ head for that first half of the season. They got to the one-yard line with the Pacers before training camp as we reported at The Athletic. Many thought it was going to end over the summer, and they were going to trade him either for Kyrie Irving, for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, or for a different package. The Russ situation got to a bit of an ugly point where I think it was kind of known on both sides that the partnership was inevitably going to end. What’s been the biggest difference for the Lakers since Westbrook was traded?īuha: I think they’re having a lot more fun now with the winning they’ve been doing since the trade deadline. Scotto: When Russell Westbrook was there, he said, “Just keep having fun, bro.” The Lakers are having fun again and winning.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |