For a riveting 48 hours, it seemed possible that the Lakers could shake up their entire season.
With eight-time All-Star Kyrie Irving on the trade block, the Lakers made subtle overtures – and some very unsubtle ones – for a player they’ve coveted since at least last summer. They privately conferred with the Brooklyn Nets about draft picks and salary, and LeBron James acknowledged to reporters that Irving could help them push toward a championship – a “duh question” as he put it.
But after the Dallas Mavericks emerged Sunday morning as Irving’s new team, what seemed like an obvious route for a star talent closed in front of them. And after very public flirtations with Irving, who is now not likely to be available until the summer as a free agent (if even then), a troubling, difficult question comes into focus: What now?
As of Sunday, the Lakers languished in 13th place in the West – with just three more losses (25-29) than the fourth-place Clippers (30-26), but with the gulf between them and the top six of the conference feeling as difficult to overcome as ever with only 28 games remaining. General manager Rob Pelinka has pledged multiple times to use all resources available to compete for a title, but the glaring move is now off the board.
Their Saturday loss to New Orleans spoke to their continuing shortcomings, as well as the inflamed tensions within the locker room by the out-in-the-open interest in Irving. Russell Westbrook understood his place in the flurry of trade rumors, and said the pressure wasn’t getting to him. After all, it’s nothing new from his year-and-a-half tenure with the Lakers.
“I’ve known this was a business since I was 18, 19 years old, since I got into it,” he said. “My dad taught me that at that age, getting to this league is a business, and people make whatever decision they make. And I’ll make sure I’m ready and professional, like I always have been and always will be.”
But Westbrook also had plenty…
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