Lakers, Nets trade talks for Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook still not progressing

Los Angeles has engaged Brooklyn in trade talks in recent weeks to attempt to acquire Irving in a deal that would send Russell Westbrook to the Nets, sources told ESPN. Thus far, those talks have not progressed toward an agreement.
Source: Dave McMenamin @ ESPN

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Clipper Darrell here for a courtside seat at @DrewLeague in case he can boo LeBron James and Kyrie Irving today. Clipper Darrell: “The Lakers can get whoever they want. The Clippers are deep this year, man. Ya’ll better watch out, baby. We’re gonna whoop that a— this year.” – 3:13 PM Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
LaVar Ball is in the building at the Drew League. Still no Kyrie Irving. LeBron James is expected to play at 145. – 3:02 PM Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
The line outside King/Drew Magnet High School in hopes to see Kyrie Irving and LeBron James play some hoops today pic.twitter.com/obU9yNSPbT – 2:56 PM Greg Dickerson @gregdickerson13
Kyrie, LeBron expected to play in Drew League espn.com/nba/story/_/id…
@espn writes about this but not about a co owner of a Boston team calling another Boston teams racist… – 2:53 PM Rob Perez @WorldWideWob
100,000 concurrent viewers watching a game from a handheld device that Kyrie did not play in (yet) pic.twitter.com/1kTuekkO8G – 2:37 PM Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
Here at the Drew League. So far, Kyrie Irving is not here for the 11 am game. – 2:16 PM Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Report: Russell Westbrook never asked for a trade from Lakers nba.nbcsports.com/2022/07/16/rep… – 2:00 PM Kerry Eggers @kerryeggers
Headline: Russell Westbrook parts ways with agent Thad Foucher due to “irreconcilable differences.”
Somehow, I’m thinking it wasn’t the agent who was at fault. – 1:42 PM Dave McMenamin @mcten
New story: Kyrie and LeBron are reuniting in Los Angeles – at the Drew League es.pn/3aIqBQF – 1:35 PM Brad Turner @BA_Turner
Kyrie Irving expected to play at Drew League today at 11. LeBron James expected to play at 1:45 today at Drew League – 1:01 PM Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Russell Westbrook, long-time agent Thad Foucher part ways nba.nbcsports.com/2022/07/16/rus… – 10:00 AM Jorge Sierra @hoopshype
How many of these things will happen before the start of the season?
KD out of Brooklyn
Donovan Mitchell in New York
Kyrie Irving with Lakers – 4:40 AM Brad Turner @BA_Turner
Worked with my dude ⁦@Dan Woike⁩ on this story in ⁦@latimessports⁩ on: Lakers’ Russell Westbrook splits with longtime agent over ‘irreconcilable differences’ latimes.com/sports/lakers/… – 1:24 AM Kyle Goon @kylegoon
A week after StaredownGate in Vegas, an ESPN report says Russell Westbrook has split with his agent over his apparent desire to move on from the Lakers: ocregister.com/2022/07/15/rep… – 11:59 PM Sam Vecenie @Sam_Vecenie
I have never seen an agent statement quite like that Thad Foucher statement regarding Westbrook per Woj. Fascinated by the decision to publicly state these things. Don’t think the statement is false, don’t think I love an agent laying it all out like that for everyone so plainly. – 11:27 PM Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
I’m gonna predict that when the dust has settled, Russell Westbrook is going to wind up back on the Wizards after a buyout, where he can post his meaningless triple-doubles in peace. – 11:00 PM Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
Thad Foucher told ESPN that he’s no longer representing Russell Westbrook bc of “irreconcilable differences,” adding that he believes “his best option is to stay with the Lakers.”
So, guess this means Russ unequivocally wants out… – 10:57 PM Sean Highkin @highkin
Something I wrote about Westbrook in March holds up pretty well bleacherreport.com/articles/10030… – 10:52 PM Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
After 14 years, Lakers star Russell Westbrook and his agent Thad Foucher of Wasserman have parted ways, Foucher tells ESPN: es.pn/3cm36gM – 10:44 PM Jake Fischer @JakeLFischer
Today’s full episode of ‘Please Don’t Aggregate This’ is live now on @getcallin, Apple, Spotify and more.
Deep dives on Donovan Mitchell, Utah, New York, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, Indiana post-Ayton offer sheet, and a whole lot more: callin.com/link/zaKSJplwjr – 5:22 PM Stefan Bondy @SBondyNYDN
leaving it up to the capologists to add pieces to make this legal. Here’s my mega proposal:
Knicks: Mitchell
Pacers: Barrett, Toppin
Jazz: Westbrook (expiring), two picks from Lakers, one from Nets, two picks Pacers, two from Knicks.
Nets: Turner, Fournier
Lakers: Irving – 4:00 PM

More on this storyline

Kyle Goon: Here at the Drew League. The buzz in the gym is that Kyrie Irving, at the very least, is not going to be playing here at 11 as previously reported. -via Twitter @kylegoon / July 16, 2022 Dave McMenamin: Kyrie Irving is expected to play in the Drew League in Los Angeles today at 11 a.m., Drew League commissioner Dino Smiley told ESPN. LeBron James is expected to play at 1:45, per Smiley. Yahoo earlier reported James’ plans to return to the Drew for the first time since 2011. -via Twitter @mcten / July 16, 2022 Jake Fischer: From my conversations with people in the league, seems pretty clear Kyrie’s accepting the fact that he is overwhelmingly likely to be back in Brooklyn. -via Spotify / July 16, 2022 Multiple sources with knowledge of the thinking of Westbrook and the Lakers told The Times that Westbrook has never requested to be traded. Earlier this offseason, he opted in to the final year of his contract, which will pay him $47 million this coming season. -via Los Angeles Times / July 16, 2022 In a statement to ESPN, Foucher, one of the league’s prominent player representatives, cited “irreconcilable differences” and suggested that there was no longer full alignment with Westbrook about whether the former MVP should want to remain with the Lakers for the final season of his $47 million contract. Foucher said that he believes Westbrook’s “best option is to stay with the Lakers, embrace the starting role and support that Darvin Ham publicly offered.” As Westbrook, 33, enters the final season of a five-year maximum deal, his standing with the Lakers is uncertain. Westbrook has been the subject of significant trade discussion after an uneven debut season with the Lakers a year ago. Foucher has been his agent since Westbrook left UCLA as a sophomore in 2008 and became the No. 4 overall pick in the draft to the Seattle Supersonics, who later became the Oklahoma City Thunder. -via ESPN / July 16, 2022 “Now, with a possibility of a fourth trade in four years, the marketplace is telling the Lakers they must add additional value with Russell in any trade scenario. And even then, such a trade may require Russell to immediately move on from the new team via buyout. “My belief is that this type of transaction only serves to diminish Russell’s value and his best option is to stay with the Lakers, embrace the starting role and support that Darvin Ham publicly offered. Russell is a first-ballot Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame player and will prove that again before he is retired. “Unfortunately, irreconcilable differences exist as to his best pathway forward and we are no longer working together. I wish Russell and his family the very best.” -via ESPN / July 16, 2022