NBA Rumors: Insider Says Blockbuster Kyrie Irving Trade Could Still Happen

So Kyrie Irving has picked up his option and is back with the Brooklyn Nets. All's good in Nets Land, right? "That's not what the executives are telling me, that's not what the agents are telling me. They're saying: 'This ain't over!'"

That's the word from ESPN's NBA Insider Brian Windhorst this morning. 

"My sources are saying 'this is not going to work.' (Because) the Nets made it clear to everybody that they did not want the status quo (with Irving)." And that's really what happened here.

Windhorst says that the Los Angeles Lakers are still considering trading Russell Westbrook for Irving. But how does that work? From the Lakers' side, they "might be willing to throw in a (first-round) draft pick" or two, because they would save, says Windy, about $30M on the trade, due to the luxury tax savings. A lot of extra funds to improve their roster. 

But why would the Nets do that deal? If the Lakers make the draft-pick capital attractive enough, the Nets would then have plenty of picks to trade, plus they "might be saying (to themselves) 'we might operate better without Kyrie Irving here'", and then they'd have the Westbrook $47M of expiring cap space to work with next year.

The biggest question, says Windhorst, is where does Kevin Durant stand on all this? And that, as of now, is the big unknown.

"I thought it was over... and I want it to be over. But I'm just telling you what... very high-ranking officials in the league are saying."

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