After showing hesitancy from the previous weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers are now waving their flag to show their willingness to part ways with their future assets.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on SportsCenter that the Lakers are now in talks and willing to ship away their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks, but for a justifiable price.
Wojnarowski added that L.A. has shown their intent to give these selections to Brooklyn in exchange for Kyrie Irving, but the Nets aren’t interested in negotiating.
(h/t Ishaan Bhattacharya of Fadeaway World):
“Lakers are active in trade talks around the league. They have 2 real assets to put out there for a significant trade. That’s their 20207 first-round pick and their 2029 first-round picks. If unprotected, it’ll have a lot of value on the marketplace. The Lakers, I’m told, are willing to do that in a Kyrie Irving trade but that’s not something the Nets have been interested in.”
Boosted and pressured by the commitment of LeBron James on his recent signing of a two-year maximum contract extension of $97.1 million for two years, the Lakers could be in the position now to go all in and capitalize their title window and aspirations with the future hall of famer. The trading of Russell Westbrook looks imminent now upon the activation of these thresholds.
The reasons for the Nets remain uncertain upon not showing any intent on these lucrative assets by the Lakers. This may suggest that there’s still hope on their part for Kevin Durant to return, and run things back with Irving in the upcoming season.
But as mentioned by Wojnarowski, these two bountiful picks by the Lakers hold special value. For now, it is enticing on how they will utilize their merit in order to retool and compete.
