Ever since they hired Darvin Ham to be their new head coach, the Los Angeles Lakers have been publicly operating under the assumption that Russell Westbrook will still be on their roster next season.
In fact, they reportedly asked Ham and other candidates how they would utilize Westbrook, and there have been recent reports that they may prefer to hold on to him rather than trade him.
But one has to believe that if Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka gets a palatable offer for him, he will be gone.
One potential trade that has been rumored lately would involve essentially swapping Westbrook for perennial All-Star Kyrie Irving, who is currently a member of the Brooklyn Nets.
On the surface, this would seem like a dream trade for the Lakers. Irving, like Westbrook, is a proven volume scorer who can also get his teammates involved and be a solid floor general. But unlike Westbrook, Irving is a great outside shooter, is not turnover-prone and has won an NBA championship.
Of course, Irving won that championship playing with LeBron James in 2016 on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Reportedly, some in the Lakers organization brought up the possibility of trading for Irving at one point this season.
More recently, Pelinka was seen talking to Nets general manager Sean Marks at the NBA Combine.
Is this something that could actually happen, or is it merely a dream?
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