The return of Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics has gone from possible to unlikely in recent days. The Celtics' confidence in bringing back Irving has eroded and will likely continue to do so after the Anthony Davis trade.
Davis was traded from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Los Angeles Lakers for a king's ransom on Saturday night. That will create a new super-team of sorts in L.A., as Davis and LeBron James will team up. However, the team is still looking for a third potential star, and Irving could be in play.
According to Sam Amick and David Aldridge of The Athletic, Irving is still in play for the Lakers. Aldridge, in particular, cited Irving's interest and said: "sources have maintained for months (Irving) wants to play with Davis." If that is, in fact, true, the Lakers would seemingly be an intriguing option for Irving, who has played with LeBron in Cleveland and wants to play with Davis.
Of course, Irving has also been tied heavily to the Brooklyn Nets in the past few weeks, and there have been reports that he may want to team up with Kevin Durant. Durant's Achilles injury may complicate that plan, though, so perhaps that could influence Irving to form a super team with the Lakers instead.
Either way, Irving being in play for the Lakers is a bad sign for the Celtics, as their best shot at retaining Irving would likely have stemmed from acquiring Davis. But, they reportedly didn't want to include Jayson Tatum in any deal given the uncertainty of Davis remaining after the season. Barring a change of heart, it seems that Irving is preparing to leave the C's once free agency rolls around.
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