The Lakers reportedly sent a serious offer to Brooklyn over the weekend, but it wasn't enough to bring Kyrie Irving to Los Angeles.
Many thought the Purple and Gold were the frontrunners to land Irving when the star point guard requested a trade from the Nets on Friday. But in the end, it was the Dallas Mavericks who acquired the eight-time All-Star from Brooklyn.
In a column published Sunday, The Athletic's Shams Charania outlined the offer the Lakers made for Irving, who is playing this season on an expiring contract. The Nets reportedly sent a counteroffer back to Los Angeles that evidently was too rich for Rob Pelinka and company's blood.
"The Lakers offered the Nets a package of Westbrook and two first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 for Irving in the last two days, sources with knowledge of the discussions said -- to which the Nets informed the Lakers that in order to make an offer to get in the Irving sweepstakes they would require all of their young players such as Austin Reaves and Max Christie and pick swaps in addition to Westbrook and the two first-round picks," Charania wrote.
It sounds like the Lakers would have had to present the Nets with an offer they couldn't refuse in order to land Irving. Brooklyn owner Joe Tsai reportedly had a "presumed objective" to not trade the 30-year-old to Los Angeles, which apparently was Irving's "preferred destination."
LeBron James and the Lakers will battle Irving and the new-look Mavericks on Feb. 26 in Dallas.
