Lowe: Kyrie Irving is ‘radioactive,’ simply not tradeable

Put down the Trade Machine. Kyrie isn’t getting traded, say more than one pundit. He’s finally become too toxic despite his near 30-point-per-game scoring average and universally acknowledged skills.

The controversy over his tweet and Instagram post promoting an antisemitic video a week ago — and a generally dissatisfactory response to his statement taking “responsibility” Wednesday — has made him “radioactive,” reports Zach Lowe of ESPN.

Here’s how Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report summarized the current situation:

Kyrie Irving’s trade value appears to be at an all-time low. ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his The Lowe Post podcast on Wednesday (around the 25-minute mark) that Irving is considered “radioactive” around the NBA: “I talked to a lot of people around the league over the weekend, and the sense I get right now is he’s radioactive. Even if you drop the price to nothing, the baggage is just too much. And you want to talk about how the Lakers are the most desperate team in the league. All right, the Lakers also play in a gigantic cosmopolitan city. All of the residents are following this story. I just don’t know what else they’re supposed to do except try to salvage and you’re telling me it’s unsalvageable.”

The last — and really only trade rumor — concerning Irving was this August when the Nets and Lakers reportedly discussed a trade of Irving for Russell Westbrook, as long as L.A. was willing to give up their 2027 and 2029 first rounders unprotected.