Lakers Will Have To Lose Rui Hachimura In Order To Sign Kyrie Irving

The Los Angeles Lakers lost three straight games to the Denver Nuggets. The front office will have to make some decisions in the offseason and yes, some players will have to go. General Manager Rob Pelinka will cut ties with some players in order to make room for new names who can actually take the team to a title. D’Angelo Russell enters free agency in the summer and NBA analysts have already sent him flying. It seems like the Lakers will get rid of another player. They have been linked to several stars and the Lakers front office could finally make a move to sign Kyrie Irving.

The Dallas Mavericks guard has been on their list since forever. He has ties with LeBron James and the king of basketball wants him on his team. LeBron and Irving had issues back in the days, but they are fine now.

The Lakers can’t sign Kyrie Irving without any obstacles

There’s a catch. To get Irving, the Lakers will have to give up on Rui Hachimura.

Brian Windhorst from ESPN discussed Irving’s potential signing with the Lakers. According to him, this contract could lead to major problems.

“To do it, they would have to pretty much jettison everybody they just picked up, including Rui Hachimura,” said Windhorst. “They’d have to probably waive Malik Beasley. There are sign-and-trade scenarios where if they could get Dallas’ cooperation and maybe sweeten that pot for them, that they could keep more of their roster together.”

.@WindhorstESPN says there's a possibility the Lakers could go after Kyrie Irving and reunite with LeBron ? pic.twitter.com/IaoMPwdTNE

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 22, 2023

The Lakers got Hachimura from the Washington Wizards in January. The Wizards had a few good reasons to get him with the ninth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Hachimura didn’t make a big impact in the regular season, but he sure surprised opponents in the postseason. In the series against the Memphis Grizzlies, Hachimura averaged 14.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He wasn’t really efficient against the Golden State Warriors, but delivers bold performance in the series against the Nuggets. Hachimura is averaging 17.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

The Lakers have to make a decision. Hachimura will become a restricted free agent in the offseason. The Lakers front office will have to match offers from other NBA teams. He is not as expensive as Irving.