NBA Rumors : "High Ranking People" Say Kyrie To Lakers May Still Happen

So Kyrie Irving picked up his $36.9M option and is returning to the Brooklyn Nets. Or is he? According to ESPN's NBA Insider Brian Windhorst, Kyrie-to-the-Lakers just might not be over yet.

"High-ranking people" believe Kyrie to the Lakers is not off the table after heavy mutual interest, per @WindhorstESPN pic.twitter.com/KjsZhChBFY

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 28, 2022

"I don't know if they're making it to camp, man" said Windhorst on his Hoop Collective podcast this morning. 

"I know that there are people in the league... high-ranking people, who believe that this is not done... People who—this is their lives—tell me 'it ain't over.'"

"If you're a Laker fan, you're disappointed but... depending on what the Nets want to achieve, it's not impossible that that could be revisited, this time in trade form."

Windhorst explains that getting his money for this season was always Kyrie's goal, and so "maybe Kyrie is like, 'this is my strategy move', maybe it's 'OK, I'm gonna take your money, and I'm gonna be a problem until you trade me.'"

There's nothing stopping the Irving camp from still trying to arrange a trade to L.A. But it would have to be Russell Westbrook coming back to Brooklyn for salary matching purposes. And we already know that the Nets are not interested in Westbrook.

And let's face it, the drama surrounding Kyrie Irving is never over. 

Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports