There were reports that the Lakers believed the deal was nearly done last weekend, no word on whether the two sides could lead the San Antonio Spurs to a complex multi-team deal, and whispers of disagreement in the Lakers’ brain trust over whether or no. Irving is the best target for the team. Everything hangs over the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, with Russell Westbrook and LeBron James watching from opposite sides of the arena Friday night as fans clamored for general manager Rob Pelinka to trade his own disgruntled point guard. with Brooklyn. So with that context — and a mention from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski during Friday’s show that “the Nets and Lakers aren’t really into Kyrie Irving right now” — it’s notable that Pelinka and Marks they were captured having something that looked pretty exciting. chat alongside Woj himself during the Saturday afternoon games. Nets GM Sean Marks is now talking with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka. There have been many rumors since Kevin Durant’s trade request that a Kyrie Irving-Russell Westbrook trade was discussed pic.twitter.com/CZOhR53a3v — ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) July 9, 2022 Before that conversation, however, Marc Stein was the latest to report that we shouldn’t necessarily hold our breath for an impending Irving trade (via Substack): League sources say the Nets are A) focused on trying to craft a palatable Kevin Durant trade before moving forward with Irving scenarios and B) adamant in their resistance to taking Westbrook back in a theoretical trade without Irving to begin with , some first-round draft compensation added by the Lakers. Westbrook, remember, is slated to make nearly $11 million more than Irving next season, which would cost Brooklyn an additional $50 million when luxury tax penalties are factored in according to an article earlier this week by my colleague at Bleacher Report, Jake Fischer. So, with all that being said… What do you think Pelinka and Marks were talking about? I’m guessing their favorite frozen yogurt spots, but I’m sure all you seasoned lip readers will have some more creative ideas in the comments below. For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast stream on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.
