Kyrie Irving on Monday opted into the final year of his deal with the Nets, but that doesn't necessarily mean the star point guard will be playing for Brooklyn in the 2022-23 NBA season.
Irving apparently did his due diligence around the league before picking up his $36.5 million player option. The only team that reportedly was interested in a sign-and-trade for Irving was the Los Angeles Lakers, who currently have a point guard problem of their own in the form of Russell Westbrook.
Monday's development might not mean Irving and the Lakers have lost hope of joining forces, though. According to ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst, "high-ranking people" are under the impression that the possibility of Irving taking his talents to Los Angeles is "not off the table."
The logistics surrounding a potential Irving-to-Lakers transaction make the situation a fairly complicated one. That said, professional sports moves have a way of working themselves out when the most powerful people in the league are involved. And few in the NBA have more pull than LeBron James, who reportedly is open to the idea of reuniting with Irving.
We probably shouldn't label Irving joining the Purple and Gold as "likely," as the seven-time All-Star also appears to have a great deal of loyalty toward running mate Kevin Durant. But as Windhorst suggested, it's something we seemingly can't rule out entirely.
