Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving asked to join Los Angeles Lakers at practice

Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-USA TODAY Sports
Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-USA TODAY Sports

This summer was quite the tease for Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers fans. When news broke about Brooklyn Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving becoming available for trade, the aforementioned teams all threw their hats into the mix at one point or another.

But as we all know, their efforts were not rewarded. Both Irving and Durant eventually recommitted themselves to Brooklyn, letting down almost everyone outside of the borough.

However, some fans are still unwilling to throw in the towel, including one Los Angeles Lakers supporter who attended Brooklyn’s Practice in the Park event and begged Irving to don the purple and gold.

You can hear what you have to assume is a Lakers fan calling out to Irving, asking him to “come to the Lakers,” as he signs autographs along the park’s east bleachers. Irving signed the fan’s shirt and laughed him off as he moved down the line and continued to interact with fans.

As noted earlier, the Lakers were seen as one of the few suitors for Irving this summer when the Nets permitted him to seek out trade partners. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski even reported at one point that the Lakers were the only team interested in acquiring Irving via a sign-and-trade.

But again, that all fell apart. Irving opted into the final year of his contract with Brooklyn in late June and re-joined the team.

However, this Lakers fan just cannot seem to let it go. The Nets do not have any interest in trading Irving at this time. 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.

You can never say never in the NBA, but this fan is clearly “down bad” as NetsKingdom asserted. Irving remains a Net and there’s no clear path right now that leads him away from Brooklyn. It’s simply not in the cards.

Regardless, the fact that opposing fans want their team to acquire Irving so badly that they’re showing to up public practices and begging him themselves should make it clear to Nets fans how lucky they are to have Uncle Drew. He’s clearly a hot commodity and one they should cherish.