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The LA Lakers season ended on Monday, May 22. Rumors around potential trade targets like Kyrie Irving and Trae Young instantly made the headlines. The Lakers evidently missed a reliable scoring point guard in their series sweep loss to the Denver Nuggets in the conference finals.
D'Angelo Russell had a series to forget after averaging 6.3 points and 3.5 assists, shooting on 32/13/75 splits. He also got benched in Game 4, arguably the Lakers' best game of the series. Interestingly, Irving and Young were both in attendance at LA's home arena during Monday's game.
It's common for players from other teams to be in attendance for playoff games if they have been eliminated early, but in Irving and Young's case, it has only sparked more rumors. The former is a free agent, while the latter will be available via trade only, with three guaranteed years on his contract and another year with an early termination option.
The LA Lakers keep both All-Star caliber guards on their radar but remain more interested in acquiring Kyrie Irving. During an appearance on the "thisleague UNCUT" podcast, Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes reported these NBA rumors, saying:
"I think there's more smoke with Kyrie than Trae Young right now. From what I'm hearing, there's nothing brewing with Trae Young and the Hawks... There hasn't been any meeting or like that to request a trade."
(Listen to Haynes' report at the 26:22 mark)
Haynes also added that LeBron James is interested in a reunion with Kyrie Irving. The duo won a chip together in Cleveland in 2016, beating the 73-9 Warriors in the finals, despite trailing 73-9.
Kyrie Irving would be a more sensible on-court fit than Trae Young for LA Lakers
Kyrie Irving has had his share of off-court issues over the last two seasons. However, his skills on the court remain unparalleled on many fronts. Irving is an elite offensive player who can be just as effective on the ball as he is off of it.
He is also a more reliable, consistent and efficient scoring threat than most point guards in the NBA. Meanwhile, Trae Young is a high-IQ point guard who can drop 20 points and 10 assists nightly.
However, he is a ball-dominant player. As history suggests, players with the inability to be effective off the ball, like Russell Westbrook, aren't that successful playing alongside LeBron James.
Young has range, but he is a far more streaky shooter. Irving, meanwhile, is a 50-40-90 shooting-split caliber player. He's had the experience of playing alongside LeBron for three years.
LA will have a better shot at keeping a role player like Austin Reaves and possibly Rui Hachimura if they pursue Irving via sign-and-trade. If the Lakers get some continuity with the roster coming off a conference finals run and manage to add Irving, it could help them get to the next level.
The LA Lakers might also sway LeBron James' mind in favor of not retiring, something he hinted he might have to think about after the Lakers' season-ending loss to Denver.
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
