Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets recently. It was a shocking turn of development because everybody believed that the superstar playmaker finally focused solely on basketball. The question which bothers the entire NBA community now is the next destination of the former NBA champion.
The 30-year-old point guard averages 27.1 points per game with 5.3 assists and 5.1 boards, and he finally reached the form from a few years ago once he became one of the best players in the past few decades.
Various bookmakers have already released the odds based on several factors. For the moment, the LA Lakers are the top favorites to be Uncle Drew’s next team, +150. His connection with LeBron was very fruitful, and we saw King James pushing to bring Irving to the Lakers in the past. To be honest, Kyrie too, had some two-way statements that would always leave the door open in LA. The two know one another very well, so there wouldn’t be any adjustment time.
Nets fans booing Kyrie Irving 🫣
(h/t @SNYNets ) pic.twitter.com/ymOirQklsp
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 4, 2023
But the problem for the Lakers is the package that needs to be sent to the East coast. The best they can do is to ship Russell Westbrook plus a few picks, and that’s it. And to be honest, why would the Nets accept that?
The next team on the list is Miami +250 because the Heat has all the assets to trade for Kyrie and the money to give him the extension he desires. In fact, many say that Kyrie requested a trade because he wants to force the Nets to give him an extension of the contract, which ends this summer.
After those units come the Mavs +400, who have been pushing for another superstar for quite some time. There were even some talks before the season that they might go after Kyrie. Though in our opinion, that would be a suicidal move, because Jason Kidd would need two basketballs in each offensive possession.
The LA Clippers +500 appeared among the favorites, and according to the most recent intel, they intensified the inquiries and are becoming more aggressive. The Clippers have enough money and assets to execute a trade because they might even throw Kawhi or PG into the equation and some other players from the rotation. We expect to see them slowly becoming the top contenders for Kyrie, because the Clips font office prepares a concrete offer, unlike all the other teams.
February 4, 2022: James Harden is ruled OUT after requesting a trade from the Brooklyn Nets.
February 4, 2023: Kyrie Irving is ruled OUT after requesting a trade from the Brooklyn Nets.
Same day 1 year apart 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/uCssEtkXxO
— Guru (@DrGuru_) February 4, 2023
These four teams are, for the moment, the biggest favorites to take Kyrie if he leaves the Nets in the first place. Now, for many analysts, his trade request is just a bluff, with the purpose of him getting an extension. He already had a similar one during the summer, but the Nets didn’t fall for it. The most realistic scenario here is to see that again.
Overall, the team from Brooklyn is doing well and plays solid basketball. Even without Kevin Durant who is injured, the Nets are still holding on, but with KD this team has been fantastic. We finally saw the Nets clicking and rosing to the top of the conference, but KD’s injury prevented them from staying there.
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
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