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Dallas Mavericks star point guard Kyrie Irving reportedly still has his eye on the LA Lakers ahead of his upcoming free agency.
In other news, former LA Lakers veteran point guard Patrick Beverley has said that he requested a trade out of LA before the trade deadline.
On that note, here are the latest rumors surrounding the LA Lakers as of March 2, 2023.
Former executive wary of Kyrie Irving's "wandering eye" for LA Lakers
The Dallas Mavericks (32-31, seventh in the West) have struggled since acquiring Kyrie Irving from Brooklyn ahead of the trade deadline. The Mavs have gone just 3-4 in the games that Irving has played in and have had a hard time defending opposing teams.
This has led to some speculation regarding Irving’s long-term future in Dallas. According to former NBA executive John Hollinger, Irving may still have his eye on the LA Lakers:
“Keep an eye on this situation. Between Irving’s wandering eye for L.A. this summer, the potential of Luka Doncic’s frustration boiling over and (Jason) Kidd’s history of things ending badly when they end, this could get a lot worse before it gets better,” Hollinger wrote.
Kyrie Irving is averaging 24.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.9 3-pointers per game on 49.2% shooting through seven games with Dallas. He is making $36.9 million this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. It remains to be seen if the Lakers (30-33, 11th in the West) will ultimately target Irving this offseason.
Patrick Beverley opens up on his decision to request a trade out of LA
Patrick Beverley struggled during his time with the LA Lakers this season before being traded to the Orlando Magic ahead of the trade deadline. Beverley was then bought out by Orlando and subsequently signed a deal with the Chicago Bulls.
Many Lakers fans assumed that LA traded Beverley due to his questionable fit with the team. However, according to Beverley, he requested a trade out of LA. Beverley explained his trade request on a recent episode of his podcast, "The Pat Bev Podcast.”
"To some people, it could be that Pat Bev got traded. In all reality, it was like, 'No, I didn't like what was going on, and let's find a better home for me,'" Beverley said.
"Not that, 'He ain't good enough, let's get rid of him.' All that s**t was my decision. You gotta think, I'm making a decision that was my decision,” he continued.
Patrick Beverley averaged 6.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.6 apg and 0.9 spg on 40.2% shooting in 45 games with LA. The Lakers (30-33, 12th in the West) went 21-24 with Beverley.
Through four games with Chicago, Beverley is averaging 5.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 4.8 apg and 1.0 spg on 38.9% shooting. The Bulls (29-34, 11th in the East) have gone 3-1 with Beverley.
LA Lakers looking to retain their young players this offseason
The LA Lakers made a flurry of moves ahead of the trade deadline in an effort to improve their shooting and defense. In doing so, the Lakers also got significantly younger by acquiring multiple key rotation players under 30. This includes D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba and Rui Hachimura.
According to an anonymous NBA general manager who spoke with Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney, LA is now planning to retain its young core long-term:
“They would never have given up that pick unless they planned to make some long-term investments,” the GM said.
“They were willing to trade it but they needed some guys just heading into their primes to convince them to give it up. Now they’ve got (D’Angelo) Russell, they’ve got (Jarred) Vanderbilt, they’ve got Malik Beasley, plus (Rui) Hachimura. … We’ll see what they do with Mo Bamba, too.
“That’s a base of young players that they did not have before, you know, guys who are (in their) mid-20s. They’re going to keep those guys in place. They’re all in on paying those guys,” he added.
Vanderbilt is still under contract for next season on an affordable $4.7 million deal. Meanwhile, Bamba is on a partially guaranteed $10.3 million deal for next season.
As for Beasley, he has a $16.5 million team option for next season that the Lakers can opt to exercise if they wish to retain him.
However, both Russell (unrestricted) and Hachimura (restricted) are set to become free agents this summer. So LA might have to shell out to retain both players.
Guess the Lakers players!
