The Brooklyn Nets swung for the fences and struck out. They gave their core away, fired their coach, and traded five years' worth of draft picks for nothing. Kyrie Irving brought nothing to the table but drama, and now even Kevin Durant wants out.
This is the worst-case-scenario a franchise could ever imagine. They can't even tank because the Houston Rockets basically own their drafts for the next five years from the James Harden trade. They need to land good players in return, but no one will match KD's actual value.
With that in mind, the Nets may want to revisit every single trade offer they had for Kyrie. The only problem is that, given his history, the only team that even considered trading for him was the Los Angeles Lakers.
NBA Rumors: Kyrie Irving Wants To Play For The Lakers, Will Force His Way To Los Angeles
Unsurprisingly, the Nets had no interest in the unappealing trade offer the Lakers could make. But given how the tables have turned, Brian Windhorst of ESPN believes Kyrie will force his way out, and the Nets will be obligud to comply:
"As I've talked to the executives, they believe the price for Kyrie Irving is going down," Windhorst said. "Before when the Nets were considering trades, they had considered keeping the team at a certain level with Durant. Now that Durant is likely going to leave the team, the price for Kyrie Irving on a rental situation is going to drop."
"Definitely look for the Los Angeles Lakers. They were interested when he was a free agent, and they'll be interested now," Windhorst added. "The only trade that makes sense now is the Russell Westbrook one. The trade would add 11 million to the Nets salary, which means the Lakers may have to incentivize the trade with a draft pick."
This is the kind of situation all team owners will address as a priority once the CBA runs out. Stars are forcing their way out of teams with four years left on their contracts, and it just seems unsustainable at this point.
