The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to target Kyrie Irving, Jeremy Grant, Myles Turner and Andrew Wiggins in the summer of 2023. This news comes from an unidentified Western Conference executive – originally interviewed by Heavy Sports.
“no matter what [the Lakers] Whether you’re working with businesses or rebuilding this year, you’ll be watching next summer. This is where they have invested so much that they can get another star-type player next summer,” an unnamed source told the media.
All four players are entering their final season. Which of these stars will boost the Lakers’ championship chances? For the 2022-23 season, some NBA betting sites are offering top-10 odds to win another title.
The Lakers are set to include their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in a deal for either Kyrie Irving or Donovan Mitchell. @mcten On Brian Windhorst and The Hoop’s joint podcast pic.twitter.com/77FKVu9xlh
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 27, 2022
“Obviously they’re going to look at Kyrie Irving, but he’s probably not going to be their top pick,” continued the NBA executive. In fact, the Chargers offered their 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks to either Irving or Donovan Mitchell.
“They’ll see Jeremy Grant, a long-time favorite, along with Myles Turner. I think Andrew Wiggins will be a big prize there because he can play two ways.
On June 27, Irving exercised his $36,934,550 player option with the Brooklyn Nets for the 2022–23 season. This option is part of the four-year, $136.49 million contract he signed with the team in 2019.
The Lakers are targeting Kyrie Irving, Jeremy Grant, Myles Turner and Andrew Wiggins next year.
In July, the Detroit Pistons traded Jeremy Grant and Ishmael Kamaget to the Portland Trail Blazers for Gabriele Procida, a 2025 first-round draft pick, a 2025 second-round draft pick and a 2026 second-round draft pick.
Now, Grant may decide to sign a multi-year deal with the Trail Blazers. That’s assuming GM Joe Cronin is interested in keeping the eight-year veteran wing. He is set to make $29.955 million with Portland for the 2022-23 season.
Meanwhile, Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner could explore the open market next summer. With the Lakers, LeBron James and Anthony Davis can use their size to defend the paint. The 26-year-old is due $18 million next season.
This is part of the rookie balance extension Turner signed with the Pacers in 2018. The 6’11” big man led the league in blocks during the 2018-19 and 2020-2021 seasons.
Finally, next up is Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins. He is set to earn $33,616,770 for the 2022-23 season. During the 2021-22 season, in 73 starts with the Warriors, Wiggins averaged 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1 steal per game.
Things change with each passing NBA season. So take this news with a grain of salt. If the Lakers have another disappointing season, maybe GM Rob Pelinka will make a deal to send Russell Westbrook to the Nets for Kyrie Irving.
