‘pessimism’ that Lakers trade for Nets’ superstar Kyrie Irving

Despite being one of the few teams linked to Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving, there is growing “pessimism” that the Los Angeles Lakers trade for the superstar that wants out, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. Per Woike, the reason for the pessimism is because of Irving’s demand for his contract extension or next contract.

According to Woike, similar to most reports, Irving wants a max contract extension that has little to no stipulations tied to playing time or anything else for that matter. Irving feels that he has earned his contract extension to be on those terms because he can still perform like a superstar, but other teams, including the Lakers, do not feel the same way.

Irving has not done himself any favors as he has played in only 157 of 298 possible games for Brooklyn so far and some of those games have been for issues other than injury. Woike expanded on why the Lakers are pessimistic about trading for Irving:

“Changes could be coming — the trade deadline is Thursday. But after a day of rampant speculation, there’s pessimism that the Lakers will swing a deal for Kyrie Irving, because of the star Brooklyn point guard’s contract demands in free agency this summer, sources with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly told The Times. Irving is expected to seek a four-year maximum contract, with the Lakers preferring a two-year deal, aligning with the two years remaining on James’ deal.”