Should Lakers trade Russell Westbrook, two firsts for Kyrie Irving?

The Lakers want to add either Kyrie Irving or a combo of Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, but they don’t appear willing to sacrifice too much of their future to improve their present. 

Los Angeles offered Russell Westbrook plus a 2027 first-round pick to Indiana for Turner and Hield, The Athletic’s Bob Kravitz reported earlier in July. The holdup over a potential deal is that the Lakers are reportedly unwilling to part with their 2029 first-round pick, as well.

Shannon Sharpe believes the Lakers should be offering both those first-round picks in a trade. However, he thinks they should only do it in order to acquire Irving. 

Lakers reportedly unwilling to trade assets to facilitate a Kyrie Irving deal

The Lakers are reportedly holding off on secondary trades because they don’t want to give up any assets that could be used to acquire Kyrie Irving. Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless react to this development.

“I do not believe the Brooklyn Nets want Kyrie Irving back,” Sharpe said on Wednesday’s “Undisputed.” “Given the matter in which he’s been in that organization for three years – and this is not just an isolated incident, this is not another situation like a Kyler Murray where this popped up last year – this is three years ongoing of Kyrie’s behavior and the Nets are saying, ‘Enough is enough. Enough is enough.’ So, yes, I still believe there is an outside chance [the Nets deal Irving to the Lakers].”

With that, Sharpe thinks the Lakers should go all-in for the All-NBA talent rather than the Pacers duo. 

“I believe this is why the Lakers [didn’t make] the other deals they could have made, because nobody’s beating out a [first-round pick] for Buddy Hield, nobody’s beating out a [first-round pick] for Myles Turner. If they would, they would’ve already been gone. So, we can always circle back to them and if we don’t, oh well.”

Sharpe’s final proposal to the Nets for Irving is Westbrook plus both the 2027 and 2029 first-round picks. Sharpe also proposed that the Nets give up either Joe Harris or Seth Curry in the deal. 

Irving’s play, when he did play, suggests that he’s worth the two first-round picks. He scored 27.4 points per game last season while making 46.9% of his shots and 41.9% of his 3-pointers. However, he only appeared in 29 regular-season games because of his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccination. He’s also played just 103 regular-season games over three years with Brooklyn. 

Whether the Nets trade Irving or not appears tied to if they’re able to trade Kevin Durant. The two-time NBA Finals MVP reportedly demanded a trade on June 30, just three days after Irving picked up the option for the final year of his contract. 

Brooklyn reportedly wants to deal Durant before it trades Irving, in which case the superstar guard might not be going anywhere soon. No team “has yet to reach the significant threshold” the Nets are seeking for a Durant trade, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday.