Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James made his stance very clear in recent days that he wanted the organization to acquire Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving via trade.
It was reported that James was advocating for the Lakers to make the deal sending Russell Westbrook and draft picks for Irving, and then he himself straight up said ‘duh’ when asked if his former co-star could help the team.
Unfortunately for James though, the Lakers were unable to get a deal done as the Nets prioritized win-now pieces and instead sent Irving to the Dallas Mavericks despite L.A. reportedly offering both its 2027 and 2029 first-round picks.
Now that the Irving saga has come to an end, James expressed disappointment in an interview with Michael Wilbon of ESPN although he concluded that it is time to move on:
“Definitely disappointed. I can’t sit here and say I’m not disappointed at being able to land such a talent, but also someone that I had great chemistry with and know I got great chemistry with out on the floor. That can help you win championships, in my mind, in my eyes. But my focus has shifted now. My focus has shifted back to where it should be and that’s this club now and what we have in the locker room. It’s a quick pivot. It’s a quick pivot. It don’t take me long. It don’t take me long. I don’t get too excited about the possibilities of things that can be. I kind of envision myself on what it can be, but I don’t invest all the way into it until I know it’s happening. And when it does not happen, I’m back locked in on the job at hand. We had an opportunity, our name was out there, the Lakers name was out there and we had an opportunity, but it didn’t happen and we move on and we finish this season strong to try to get a bid into the postseason where I feel if we go in healthy that we can compete with anybody.”
The good news from these comments is that James still seems committed to the Lakers and trying to get them back into postseason contention this season.
Westbrook can’t be happy hearing his teammate express disappointment with him not being traded though, so unless a deal is struck before Thursday’s deadline then there likely will need to be a conversation between the two to clear the air and finish out the season. The Lakers still do have some other options to trade Westbrook though, which will be worth monitoring in the next few days.
Westbrook remaining professional despite trade rumors
After the Lakers’ recent loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, Westbrook was asked about the trade rumors and said he will continue to remain professional, understanding the NBA is a business.
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