The Brooklyn Nets dramatically pivoted from their intent on keeping Kevin Durant on the roster in the wake of the Kyrie Irving trade following conversations they had with him that he wanted a trade.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports that the Nets very well may have traded Kyrie Irving to the Los Angeles Lakers had they known over the weekend that Durant would be traded by the deadline.
“I can’t underscore enough Kyrie Irving should be a Laker,” said Windhorst. “Kevin Durant doing this in this sequence messed this up. We should be talking about a Big 3 in Phoenix playing a Big 3 in L.A. The Lakers should be excited, but it’s amazing Kyrie Irving is not a Laker with how this unfolded.”
The Nets traded Irving to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and an unprotected 2029 first round pick.
The Lakers were building an offer for Irving around the expiring contract of Russell Westbrook and unprotected first round picks in 2027 and 2029. On Wednesday, the Lakers traded Westbrook and a protected 2027 first round pick for D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley, which vastly improves their rotation.