The Los Angeles Lakers are heavily linked with Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving and the possibility of this happening is gradually increasing as there are rumours of Kyrie joining the Lakers and that may see Russell Westbrook going the other way for the Nets. The reunion of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving is something that will excite the Lakers’ fans.
While there are constant rumours about the trade, NBA analysts have not spoken much about it. Most of the NBA Analysts have lost interest in Kyrie as they dont see much upside to the deal. Most of the people believe that Kyrie is now a ticking time bomb but one can argue that it was Lebron who managed him the best when they won the Championship for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Recently Analyst, Nick Wright shared his opinion on the trade as he shared how moving out Westbrook for Kyrie won’t resolve issues for the Lakers as they will still need some pieces to make this team win the Championship. Wright also highlighted the constant availability issues between Kyrie and injury prone Anthony Davis will only make things more difficult for LeBron James.
“Even if the Lakers swapped Russ for Kyrie they’ll be short probably a perimeter defender. There’s availability questions with AD, there’s some availability questions with LeBron and there’s massive availability questions with Kyrie Irving, and it’s a first-time head coach,” Wright shared.
While Westbrook’s performances have been far from his true potential, he still has been active and has tried to improve his game. Whereas Kyrie has only created drama with several issues which has come back to haunt his franchise. His basketball career has taken a major hit as most of the franchises are not interested in trading for him and going through his tantrums.
Nick Wright also believes that same narrative as he points out how Kyrie Irving is a more toxic addition to the Lakers than Westbrook. While Kyrie may come out and drop some great performances, he will continue to make things worse because that has been the trait for him everywhere that he has gone till now.
“Amazingly, Kyrie Irving is more toxic of an asset than Russell Westbrook, because Russell Westbrook at least we know he’ll be a good teammates, he’ll play, he won’t light your organization on fire,” Wright concluded.