Maybe we should pump the brakes on the idea of Kyrie Irving taking his talents to the West Coast this summer.
While the bulk of Irving-related rumors of late have centered around the New York Knicks, many believe the Los Angeles Lakers will be in the hunt for the star point guard’s services this offseason. This narrative gained some steam shortly after the Boston Celtics’ season-ending loss when it was reported that Irving “has had discussions” about playing for the Lakers.
Since then, however, we’ve only heard the contrary. Stephen A. Smith reported there was “no chance in hell” Irving dons the Purple and Gold next season, and former NBA guard Jay Williams seems to be on the same wavelength as the “First Take” co-host.
“It will never happen. It will never, ever, ever, happen,” Williams said Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up!” “Can you imagine the narrative that will follow Kyrie Irving? So you have two bad seasons in Boston, one where you don’t play in the playoffs, they get to the (Eastern Conference) finals. The next where you don’t get the team to where they’re supposed to go, right? With all the things said at the podium, and then the next year you say, ‘You know what? I’m gonna go back and play with LeBron James.’ People will say, ‘We knew Kyrie couldn’t get it done on his own. We knew Kyrie wasn’t the leader.’ Kyrie will not want that narrative to follow him for the rest of his career.”
The Lakers hardly are the appealing free-agent destination they once were. The franchise currently is dealing with quite a bit of chaos, something Irving likely would want to avoid after two roller-coaster seasons in Boston. Los Angeles might be hard-pressed to acquire any superstars this summer, not just Irving.
It’s seemingly become a foregone conclusion that Irving will join forces with a superstar in the offseason. But with all things considered, one has to imagine that player is more likely to be Kevin Durant or Anthony Davis than James.
