NBA rumors: Here’s how the Lakers blew their chance at Kyrie Irving

The Los Angeles Lakers seemed like frontrunners for a Kyrie Irving trade but, now that he’s been dealt to Dallas, here’s why that trade didn’t happen. 

Kyrie Irving has been traded from the Brooklyn Nets. But despite what the conventional though was after he requested that the team trade him ahead of the Feb. 9 deadline, he won’t be on the Los Angeles Lakers. Instead, Irving is headed to the Dallas Mavericks to be the 1B option alongside Luka Doncic.

Considering the immediate reported interest for the Lakers in an Irving trade, it is a bit shocking to see that Los Angeles didn’t get the deal done in order to add another star alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the team tries to make a playoff push in the log-jammed Western Conference.

As it turns out, though, there was a good reason as to why LA wasn’t able to make the Kyrie Irving trade happen — or, if you prefer, how they blew perhaps their best shot to land another star.

Lakers rumors: Why Kyrie Irving trade didn’t happen for LA

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers and Nets did indeed have trade talks around Irving. However, LA’s overall lack of draft capital combined with the fact that they didn’t have the guard and wing depth to send back to Brooklyn meant that the Nets simply preferred the package offered by Dallas.

That highlights a real catch-22 for Los Angeles. They are looking to upgrade the roster at the trade deadline and would love to make a splash like a Kyrie Irving trade. But if teams like the Nets want assets and players in return to help replenish the roster, LA is not a franchise in a great position to provide that.

With that said, the Lakers will surely still try to make something happen moving forward. We’ll just have to see where Rob Pelinka and the front office pivot after missing on Irving.