What is it with superstars wanting to play in LA or New York? Everybody thinks of the Lakers and the Knicks when you talk about these two cities, but not recently. We’ve seen superstars swerve and go to their city rivals, and Kyrie Irving might be the latest to do so.
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Coming from the “lesser” New York team, Kyrie has requested a trade before the deadline, much like Kevin Durant did just before the trade embargo was lifted after the 2021-22 season. Both Jose Tsai’s assets do not want to be there but are staying because of their fat packages.
And it looks like Kyrie doesn’t care about that anymore. Maybe he wants to live in “liberal” California, where wokeness is celebrated and flat earth theory isn’t such a wacky idea. But does he have to do it while playing with LeBron James? Only he can decide that should the Nets accept a deal.
Would the Los Angeles Clippers be the right destination for Kyrie Irving?
A glance at the standings would indicate that the Clippers are a better fit for his ambitions. Nobody wants to trade away their chance to play in the playoffs to fight against the Houston Rockets. Plus, when you get to play with stalwarts like Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, it almost seems like a no-brainer.
But a closer look would indicate things aren’t so black and white. Sure, the Clippers have a better standing at the moment, but had a few obvious referee calls gone the Lakers’ way, they’d be going toe-to-toe with the Clippers. If that was the landscape, surely you’d want to play with LeBron James over two people who barely play.
Ty Lue or LeBron James—a dilemma that shouldn’t cause anyone to lose too much sleep. But you don’t play just for your teammates; you play for the coach who puts you in the right places. Darwin Ham is not as effective a coach as Ty Lue, whose superiority in LA is unmatched.
If the Brooklyn Nets do accept an offer for Irving, which LA side would they take assets from?
An aging Russell Westbrook with a large contract or solid Clippers role players. Which side would the Brooklyn Nets take if the situation became too heated? If the Nets are serious about winning now, they’d go for what the Clippers offer any day of the week.
Sure, it’d be nice to see Westbrook and Kevin Durant play with each other once again, but Durant himself would not want that. That was the reason he left OKC in the first place, and putting them together won’t solve anything.
The Clippers will not be trading away Kawhi or PG-13, so they’d much rather offer players like Luke Kennard, Terence Mann, Reggie Jackson, and such. Sure, they’d have to give up a lot of pieces, but getting Irving would be a blow they’d like to deal to the Lakers.
Will the Clippers’ fans like the trade? Not necessarily, because they would most likely be faced with a scenario where four superstars could “load manage” together. Kawhi, PG, Kyrie, and John Wall are all players known to miss or break games. Why would anyone come to a game and not see big-name players play?
