5 Things: Kyrie…

OK, here it is. Funny in that I had started this prior to the podcast where Marc Stein floated the same theory. Scary because that means there is more than a kernel of truth. Sad because this is the current state of Laker Nation. We have reached the Waiting on Kyrie Zone.

1. Don’t get it wrong, this ain’t no miracle for the Lakers or their fans. This is, in my opinion, bringing a player less reliable than Russell is. Oh, it’s Thursday before a lobster boil in Kansas? Sorry guys, can’t make the game. Random social justice cause that I can Tweet about but actually do very little? Gonna need a week of personal time with full pay to get through it. The Earth is flat, nah just kidding I know it’s round I just use my platform for bullshyte. That is the maturity and character of the person the Lakers now seem to be focusing far too much attention on. Give me Russ over Kyrie all day, every day from now until the end of time. Kyrie is a joke, not a serious basketball player.
2. Ok, ok, got that outta my system…kinda. On the court Irving is a far superior fit alongside AD and LeBron than Russ is. Kyrie can shoot, is as able a distributor and has maybe the best handle in the game today. It’s the baggage…so very much baggage. It threatens to suck anything that comes into it’s orbit into an absurdist pit of wackiness without end. You want to challenge your new coach? Throw that mess on his plate and walk away.
3. Ok, ok…ok. Now I really have gotten that out of my system. There aren’t many paths for Irving to become a Laker. The first is the least likely which is straight trade with the Nets. Russ at $47,063,478 and Kyrie at $36,503,300 means there is too large a gap and the Nets have to send another player or few. Seth Curry at $8,496,653 just about does it and certainly does if you throw in Kessler (who?) Edwards at $1,563,518. There are other permutations that can be juggled but the real issue is the Nets have signaled they do not want anything to do with Westbrook. This route feels DOA.
4. Multi team trade. What this really should read is three team trade with OKC, Brooklyn and LA. No other team has the cap space or the inclination to hoard draft picks like the Thunder do. Are there other teams with the requisite cap space, or clearable cap space? Sure, but those aren’t realistic options, IMO. Real hard for me seeing OKC doing the Lakers a favor, of course the cost would be the last two tradeable draft picks in our stockpile, maybe Reaves to boot. The one thing this path would do is open up the door to adding THT and Nunn into the deal and getting below the tax apron thus opening up better spending tools. Still, hard for me to see this one happening in so short of time.
5. Everyone’s dream team. Irving opts out and signs with LA for the MLE. Big 4 of Russ, Kyrie, LeBron and AD. The stuff nightmares are made of. For Laker fans. Who would get the ball? Who would be the worst defender? How often would Kyrie play when paid so little? Still, in all reality, this path seems the most likely to me for Irving to wind up in the purple and gold. The fit would be…interesting. Certainly would give the Lakers another ball handler and some shooting to maybe open up the floor a little but it really just looks and feels like too many cooks in the kitchen. Unless it’s a race to see who plays in fewer games: Davis or Irving (Irving would get my bet).

All in all, it’s a small chance but a real one. No GM is likely to want to do either Kyrie or the Lakers any favors. The Lakers would be insane if they gave Kyrie a multi-year extension since it’s all but guaranteed he’ll miss large portions of every season (currently averaging 55 games/season and at 30 years old he won’t be getting any healthier), at least without a trial season on the MLE…where he will likely miss a boatload of games to pout about how little he is being paid. The talent is undeniable, and so is the petulant attitude and lack of seriousness when it comes to being a pro athlete. He should come with a warning: buyer beware, player likely to throw a pique and be out of contact for stretches of the season. But it is the Lakers so anything is possible.