Los Angeles Lakers: Why Anthony Davis is the only option this summer
By Jason Reed
3. Kyrie Irving to the Lakers just doesn’t make sense
Another star that has joined the fray in players connected to the Los Angeles Lakers is Kyrie Irving. It first started when Irving told reporters that he called LeBron to apologize to him for not realizing that leading a championship team is difficult.
They grew even stronger after reports surfaced that Irving would reportedly be open to playing with LeBron again.
Heck, we even jumped on the hype train of Irving coming to the Los Angeles Lakers and dreamt up this lovely scenario where Irving would come to Los Angeles if Anthony Davis was traded to LA.
And I guess that still is a possibility if the Lakers do in fact land Davis this offseason but it still remains that Davis is the only option. The Lakers cannot bank on Irving coming because Irving coming does not happen without Davis coming.
One reason why is Lonzo Ball. While Ball is not a fan-favorite and Irving is better, the Lakers are not going to simply bench Ball and have him come in as a sub only two years after drafting him with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Second of all, the rest of the Lakers roster has not really shown much and Irving might not want to be left to dry, the same situation that would have happened in Cleveland if he was traded.
Trade Lonzo Ball in a deal for Anthony Davis and hope that Irving wants to take a pay cut to play with the Lakers.
Because if not, staying in the East and getting a max contract to play alongside Kevin Durant and potentially Zion Williamson in New York is a lot more intriguing.