EL SEGUNDO — At one point, even the players were convinced.
The NBA’s trade rumor winds were picking up earlier this month, and it seemed almost inevitable that Kyrie Irving would be a Laker. Troy Brown Jr. has been in the league long enough to get the feeling that when stars – like his own teammate LeBron James – want something to happen, it seems to happen.
“Yeah, I feel like everybody kind of felt like that,” Brown said at Friday’s practice, looking back on a few of the most tumultuous days this season. “Like, you never know with the trade deadline stuff. Obviously he went to Dallas. But at the end of the day, the NBA, guys are professional regardless of whatever happens. So, I like the guys that we have now.”
The Lakers, as a whole, seem to be pretty happy with the new group they acquired at the deadline: D’Angelo Russell (albeit injured and doubtful for Sunday in Dallas with a sprained ankle), Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Mo Bamba, Davon Reed and Rui Hachimura (counting January trades). Since they’ve brought in their new players, they’re 3-1. Coach Darvin Ham said Friday, “we’ve really improved our roster by leaps and bounds.”
The Lakers’ next opponent, the Dallas Mavericks, also seem to be in an upbeat place. Irving, 30, is inarguably the most talented teammate Luka Doncic has ever had still in his prime. Irving called his pairing with Doncic “a force to be reckoned with” and alluded to the “exciting future” the two have ahead.
In the best possible scenarios, both teams find a rhythm and consistent success in the final stretch of the regular season, and both teams parlay that newfound stability and talent influx into respectable playoff runs.
But what if it doesn’t work out? One of the league’s most popular running rumors is that the Lakers and Irving might still have each other when the summer rolls around.
It might seem a little too soon to restoke the flame underneath the NBA’s hot stove mere weeks…
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