Los Angeles Lakers

Nearly broken up this summer following Kevin Durant's trade request, the Brooklyn Nets may look very different next season. There were several reports this ...

Smith, Kyrie Irving plans to sign there, and was trying to find his way there this offseason as well. While his reports are not always accurate, Smith is plugged in to several different NBA circles, and likely received this intel from somewhere. Kyrie is not re-signing with Brooklyn.

Even though Kyrie Irving has been back and committed to the Brooklyn Nets for some time now Los Angeles Lakers fans are still begging him to come out west.

Irving signed the fan’s shirt and laughed him off as he moved down the line and continued to interact with fans. You can never say never in the NBA, but this fan is clearly “down bad” as NetsKingdom asserted. He’s clearly a hot commodity and one they should cherish. It’s simply not in the cards. [quite the tease for Phoenix Suns](https://nothinbutnets.com/2022/09/15/brooklyn-nets-trade-kevin-durant-west-exec/), Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers fans. Los Angeles will likely try and target Irving this coming summer when he becomes a free agent and LA’s cap situation improves, but that’s still months away.

A Los Angeles Lakers fan tried to see if he can convince Kyrie Irving to join his team at the Brooklyn Nets open practice.

This would give the Lakers a chance to sign Irving should he remain dissatisfied with the Nets after this season. We have seen Irving win a championship with LeBron before and it was one of the greatest title wins of all time. Irving clearly found the situation funny, laughing with the guy who was making the free agency pitch.

Kyrie Irving was begged by a Lakers fan to leave the Brooklyn Nets and go to Los Angeles at a recent Nets' open practice.

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are superstars in every sense of the word. The thought of pairing up LeBron James and Kyrie Irving once again appealed to some fans as well. The Nets and Lakers were rumored to be discussing a potential Kyrie Irving deal during the offseason.

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith said on NBA Countdown Wednesday that Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving won't re-sign with the team this offseason and ...

That's what he was trying to do over the summer. if he chooses to do so next summer as an unrestricted free agent. That's what he's trying to do now. Irving will be free to pursue a move to L.A. ... He is trying to go to Los Angeles. They're not re-signing with Brooklyn.

BROOKLYN NETS star Kyrie Irving had been linked with the Los Angeles Lakers.

After six years in Cleveland, Irving joined Boston Celtics, before signing with the Nets as a free agent. At an open training session, Irving had been signing signatures for fans, with one man pleading for him to join the Lakers. Kyrie Irving has brutally responded to a Los Angeles Lakers fan pleading with him to join the team after reportedly wanting out earlier this summer.

Los Angeles Lakers fans aren't giving up on the dream of improving the roster.

Irving will be a free agent and Westbrook’s contract will be off the books, which means Los Angeles could sign him outright. There were even rumors that Irving could opt out of his contract and sign with the Lakers [on a smaller contract](https://heavy.com/sports/brooklyn-nets/kyrie-irving-could-sign-mid-level-extension-with-lakers/). Throughout the summer, Irving was the prized superstar whose name was front and center of Lakers fans. As for the prospect of adding Irving via free agency next summer, sources say he’s currently not a part of the Lakers’ long-term plans. Irving laughed it off and appears to respond to the fan but it’s difficult to know for sure what he said. While Irving appears ready to be a good soldier for the Nets this season, things could always change.

Lakers star Anthony Davis was impressed by the performance of teammate Lonnie Walker IV against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

But he’s going to take our competitiveness, our energy, he’s going to take that up a level. And if we defend, we’re gonna give ourselves a chance to win every single night no matter if the ball’s going in or not.” We know what we want to accomplish on a game-to-game basis,” said James, who was two of four from three-point range. “He’s a guy that’s going to try to defend the best of them, take a challenge — [Minnesota’s] Anthony Edwards. “At the end of the day, you’re gonna have games where you make it, and you’re gonna have games where you don’t make it and you got great looks. Walker didn’t panic, keeping his patience to find a cutting James, who was fouled on the play. Walker had just one assist, but he was decisive in his actions. … He’s going to thrive in that system.” He’s a guy that’s not going to give up. “I asked him if he was OK and he said ‘Yeah, I’ll be fine,’” Ham said. It could be totally different when he wakes up in the morning.” But he played really well before he went down.

And we may be perhaps seeing a few possible reasons why before even the regular season officially starts. During a preseason game Wednesday night, there were a ...

A divorce is coming between the Lakers and Westbrook either way after this season, but it’s looking more and more like one may have to come before. The regular season is only a few days away. And as soon as things begin to sour in Los Angeles, these are the type of things that are going to be highlighted. It’s only going to get bigger with this latest piece of evidence from Westbrook and the team. This is not what the Lakers need in their lives. And we may be perhaps seeing a few possible reasons why before even the regular season officially starts.

Russell Westbrook's place on the 2022-2023 Los Angeles Lakers is one of the biggest storylines in the NBA heading into the new season.

Westbrook is still a fast and powerful driver going to the rim, but this Lakers team simply needs more off-ball components around James and Davis. Expect there to be plenty of weird little moments like this one along the way. Westbrook was probably just upset at the foul call, and needed a moment to breathe before chatting with teammates. The Lakers’ addition of Patrick Beverley has only made the Westbrook issue even thornier. Westbrook’s first year in LA was an abject disaster for everyone involved, but he’s still on the roster entering the final year of his contract. — but to this point LA has been hesitant to include the future draft compensation necessary to get an upgrade in return.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham outlines the areas where Russell Westbrook can make a positive impact offensively.

“There are things all of them need to do better in terms of running habits and things with the way we’re gonna space, screening angles, rolling all the way to the rim,” Ham noted. There’s gonna be that period of discovery where we just got to sit down and continue to pound out the film and continue to work on our habits in practice.” It takes time to build up the habits that Ham wants for this team and ideally, the further along they get, the easier things will become. We’re trying to water that plant so that they can, again, as we get further along and open up the season, two months in, three months in, four months in, things don’t happen overnight. “In terms of Russ, there’s running lanes, there’s guy that are willing passers that are gonna find him, we just got to commit to our running habits and our spacing. “Guys got to get accustomed to different habits and different ways of spacing, being in different positions.

The Lakers took the floor for their fifth preseason game this season. They are just under a week away from opening night and it appears they are tightening ...

Lonnie left in the third with a left ankle sprain and did not return. He mentioned how the “young guys caught the message as well and had a really good carryover to finish the game.” Another priority of Coach Ham’s is running the floor and Walker was a prime example. The King acted in his royal manner and knocked down a couple of threes and went 9-for-12 from the field. The Lakers did concoct quite a bit in the paint tonight though. The Lakers took the floor for their fifth preseason game this season.

Los Angeles Lakers swingman Lonnie Walker IV, added via the team's $6.5 million mid-level exception this summer, has enjoyed a pretty solid preseason thus ...

[somewhat limited](https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/news/lonnie-walker-iv-troy-brown-jr-practicing-through-injuries-ak1987) during L.A.'s training camp this season. The injury was later deemed to be a [sprain](https://twitter.com/BA_Turner/status/1580421795592564737). [Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times](https://twitter.com/BA_Turner/status/1580404462027350019). [Mike Trudell of Lakers.com](https://mobile.twitter.com/LakersReporter/status/1580422152666329088) reports that Ham indicated Walker's left ankle sprain was mild, and suggested he would be reassessed this morning. Was ensuring Walker appeared in some of them worth this risk? In an interesting move, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham had opted to start 6'4" wing out of the University of Miami at small forward and 6'1" Patrick Beverley at Walker's more natural position, shooting guard, to form a fairly undersized starting perimeter rotation last night.

It turns out that Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook's third quarter "snub" of a team huddle before the club eventually fell 118-113 to the ...

It's barely a secret that Russell Westbrook wants the Lakers to trade Russell Westbrook. It's no secret that the Lakers want to trade Russell Westbrook. The former nine-time All-Star may not be fully engaged with his teammates, but that could just as easily be a function of the 33-year-old being in his own little universe (which, to be fair, isn't great for team chemistry), rather than being some indication that there's trouble in paradise.

The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves in their penultimate preseason game, suffering a loss to fall to 1-4.

Wenyen Gabriel hit a late 3 to get the Lakers as close as they had been all half within three points. It was a Timberwolves young player in Luka Garza that got hot though, scoring 10 straight points for his team to build the lead up to 15. Every time the Lakers took a lead though, the Timberwolves would respond with a triple to keep it close. That gave young players like Cole Swider a chance to get some run and he came in and immediately drained a triple. The Lakers seemed to come out with more energy to begin the third quarter, diving for loose balls, rebounding and even draining some outside shots. James and Walker accounted for the Lakers’ first 12 points as they were both aggressive getting to the basket.

“People are like fascinated with that for some reason. I could ask you do you ever ask Mark Cuban who his inner circle is? Or Joe Lacob who his inner circle ...

The 2022-23 season is a pivotal one for the franchise, and one that Buss is hoping goes in their favor. Buss has not shied away from any criticism when it comes to basketball operations, but naysayers have only gotten louder in the years following their title run in 2020. I’ve operated in the same style since I started working with the organization and even before that with the Great Western Forum putting on events.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook is downplaying any speculation stemming from viral videos of him not standing near his teammates during preseason ...

He will get the opportunity to prove he can fit in with this group when they open the regular season on Oct. The Lakers struggled their way to a 33-49 record and an 11th-place finish in the Western Conference last season. [full clip](https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1580551050670788610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) of the pregame video was posted online, showing Westbrook in the huddle with his teammates at the start. [Rob Perez](https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1580618633197154304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1580618633197154304%7Ctwgr%5E3591fbf2d623580117aeebe15ba3c1c632edd42e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flarrybrownsports.com%2Fbasketball%2Fviral-clip-russell-westbrook-bad-teammate-misleading%2F605475) of Underdog Fantasy noted Westbrook has been doing this same thing for at least a decade, and he found a clip of the former NBA MVP doing it prior to a game last season. It's not a surprise that everything Westbrook does is the subject of intense scrutiny, particularly from Lakers fans. He averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game in 78 starts during the 2021-22 season.

Although Los Angeles Lakers point guard Patrick Beverley claims that he and new teammate Russell Westbrook are now best friends, there may be a little ...

Trading Westbrook for defensive and/or shooting help along the wing or in the frontcourt could cure some of what ails Los Angeles. Head coach Darvin Ham played most of his regular rotation in the Timberwolves loss last night, but focused on a small-ball strategy that highlighted the team's big weakness, to its own detriment: a glut of little guards. The 6'1" veteran guard did successfully rope in LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Lonnie Walker IV for a chat.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook responded to the videos circulating of him being distant with his teammates.

It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more! “In terms of Russ, there’s running lanes, there’s guy that are willing passers that are gonna find him, we just got to commit to our running habits and our spacing. But as far as the other video, I was actually talking to the coaches and they cut that video in half as well. But I’ve just been blessed and thankful to be able to continue to play each year and I’ll continue to just put my head down and keep competing. But I’ve been doing the same ritual since I’ve been in the league. Westbrook had his worst performance of the preseason with just five points, four assists and three rebounds on 1-of-3 shooting in 25 minutes.

A couple of viral videos from Wednesday showcase some strange vibes from Russell Westbrook and the Lakers already this preseason.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at [@JacobRude](https://twitter.com/JacobRude). It very well might soon force the Lakers into an uncomfortable decision to avoid things growing more awkward and potentially damaging to the season. The Lakers [did him no favors by spending the entire summer](https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2022/6/5/23155577/russell-westbrook-lakers-trade-rumors-buyout-waive-stretch-pacers-knicks) trying to trade him before agreeing to no deal and having him come back into the fold. [Wednesday’s game between the Lakers and Timberwolves](https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2022/10/12/23402002/lakers-timberwolves-recap-box-score-stats-preseason-game-lebron-james-anthony-davis) and Russell Westbrook. The vibes were just...off. Perhaps last night was a one-off occurrence. If it felt like a matter of when, not if, then Wednesday might serve as the point of no return. It was a good lesson to be learned.” Not with this franchise and not after last season. He did only shoot three times in 25 minutes and looked a lot like his often-disengaged self from last year. [Lakers](https://www.silverscreenandroll.com) comes with multiple levels of added scrutiny that don’t exist with other franchises. This isn’t an article to debate what Westbrook was specifically doing and whether it was right, wrong, normal or abnormal.