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Kyrie Irving reportedly granted permission to seek sign-and-trade, Lakers only interested team

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Graphic via Zain Fahimullah / Silver Screen and Roll

The next step of the Kyrie Irving saga is upon us as he has reportedly been granted permission by the Nets to find a sign-and-trade deal with the Lakers among the potential options.

Heading into the decisive week in the Kyrie Irving saga, the first chess piece has been moved. Two days before a decision on his option must be made, Kyrie reportedly asked and was requested permission to seek a sign-and-trade from the Nets, according to Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.

In fact, things are trending the opposite direction: While Nets GM Sean Marks and superstar forward Kevin Durant have yet to speak this offseason, Irving’s camp has requested and received permission from the Nets to speak with other teams about sign-and-trade packages, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.

Adding to that report was Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who stated that the Lakers are the only interested team in Irving for a sign-and-trade.

Previously, Irving gave a list of teams that he’d be open to trades to, one that included the Lakers. But the purple and gold appear to be the only team on that list with a mutual interest in Irving, at least in the trade market.

That being said, as Woj notes, there isn’t mutual interest from the Nets in what the Lakers can offer in a trade, which is effectively Russell Westbrook and a couple of draft picks. Short of a three-team deal that hasn’t been rumored in any way, there’s not a likely scenario in which Irving is dealt to the Lakers.

In that scenario, it means all sides are calling Irving’s bluff that he would just decline his option and turn down lots of millions of dollars. As Winfield notes, the teams that have cap space this summer don’t seem to have much interest in Irving.

But they do not have the cap space to replace Irving if he leaves as a free agent, and the only teams that have the cap space to sign Irving need much more than the star guard’s services if they’re going to make the playoffs, let alone compete for a championship.

And that means the most likely scenario if he declines his option, the Lakers seem to be the favorite for his services. That would come only after Irving sacrificed $30 million, which, again, is probably why the Nets are calling his bluff in some senses.

But even then, the growing sentiment around the league and Irving himself seems to be that he will, in fact, opt out of his deal to sign for about $6 million with the Lakers, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

This could still be posturing and Irving using every single ounce of the Lakers for leverage. Similar to how the Lakers have tried to use all the leverage possible to make teams believe they won’t trade Russ, Kyrie is doing that to make teams — or the Nets specifically — believe he’ll really opt out.

Is Kyrie serious? We won’t know until he makes his decision on his player option.

Ultimately, then, Irving’s request on Monday to discuss sign-and-trade options isn’t a surprise, nor is the lack of interest across the league. This is all building to Wednesday when Irving has to make that aforementioned decision on his player option and only then will we have a firmer grip on what is in store for his future.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.

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