[Sports] Kyrie Irving suggests Kobe Bryant should replace Jerry West as the NBA's logo in an Instagram post

[SliCeR]

The silhouette of Jerry West has been the NBA's logo for over five decades. An artist was first commissioned to design it in 1969 and the league has not changed it ever since. It is simple and iconic and has given the NBA one of the most recognizable logos of all of the professional sports leagues. But Kyrie Irving would prefer to update it. The Brooklyn Nets guard had a particularly close relationship with Kobe Bryant, and on Wednesday, he took to Instagram to argue that the Lakers legend should replace West as the league's logo. "Gotta Happen, idc what anyone says," Irving wrote. "BLACK KINGS BUILT THE LEAGUE." Irving and Bryant were close up until Kobe's tragic death in a January 2020 helicopter accident. When Irving's Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2016 championship, Irving FaceTimed Bryant from the locker room as his teammates celebrated. Shortly after Irving called for Bryant to be the league's new logo, Vanessa Bryant, Kobe's wife, responded by sharing Irving's post to her Instagram story and saying "Love this @kyrieirving." Vanessa also shared multiple photos of the late Lakers star and daughter, Gianna, following the Irving post. West himself advocated for a logo change during a 2015 interview with the Huffington Post but pushed for a different player to receive the honor. "I hate to say it's not a Laker, but Michael Jordan," West said. "He's been the greatest player I've ever seen. And I'm probably a harsh judge of talent in the sense that I admire players that are really good defensive players and really good offensive players. And I felt that at his time in the game, he was the best defensive player in the game, but more importantly, he was the best offensive player. And he made his teams win." The NBA renamed the All-Star Game MVP trophy in Bryant's honor. After Bryant died in 2020, a petition circulated on change.org to make him the logo and drew over 3.2 million signatures. The league has announced no plans to consider a logo change. The NBA trade deadline is a month away. Given that both conferences' standings are bunched up in the middle, it's still not completely clear who the buyers and sellers will be, but it's getting more difficult for certain teams to convince themselves they still have a shot at making something out of this season. Derrick Rose has already been moved, and two former All-Stars who shared a frontcourt for a playoff team a couple of years ago have been shelved. This is a primer for trade season, a list of 40 players who might be moved. It will be updated and expanded multiple times before the March 25 deadline. (Stats reflect games played through Feb. 23.)Washington won five straight games before a 19-point loss to the Clippers on Tuesday, and it continues to maintain that its franchise player isn't going anywhere. Beal is averaging a league-best 32.7 points on 59.1 percent true shooting. He's 27 years old and starting in the All-Star Game. It is understandable that the Wizards want to do everything they can to build around him, especially if he seems content to play out the season before reevaluating things. One has to wonder, though, just what kind of offer would convince them to pivot from their plan. Could they get the same type of package the Rockets got for James Harden? Would they really turn that down? LaVine is having the best, most complete season of his career and is a deserving All-Star. Given that he's 25 years old and under contract until 2022, the Bulls should not be in a hurry to trade him. We're just a couple of months removed, however, from LaVine and the front office failing to agree to a contract extension. If Chicago wants to play the long game, it could still potentially sell (extremely) high on LaVine, move its veterans -- more on them later -- and take itself out of the short-term playoff picture. Seems much less likely now, though. The Raptors' slow start predictably led other teams to surmise that Lowry might be on his way out. They've turned their season around, though, and the type of team most interested in a soon-to-be 35-year-old point guard typically isn't the type of team that can easily trade for a $30.5 million contract. If Lowry informs Toronto that he doesn't plan on re-signing as a free agent, you'd think the front office would try to move him. Otherwise, this remains a mutually beneficial partnership, and there are non-sentimental reasons it could continue beyond this season.Mark Cuban denied that the Mavericks have even discussed Porzingis with other teams, but there is at least some smoke here. Rival executives believe that they've explored the idea of trading him, per Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer, and the front office has reached out to the Golden State Warriors to gauge their interest, per SNY's Ian Begley. At his best, Porzingis is the kind of player who would normally be untouchable: A 7-foot-3 dude who makes deep 3s and protects the rim at an elite level. Based on his recent play, however, it is fair to be concerned about the rim-protection part of the equation. If Dallas thinks Porzingis will remain a defensive liability, it would make sense to trade him to a team that disagrees.Ideally, the Rockets would have had more than two full months to evaluate Oladipo and how he might fit long term before deciding whether or not to flip him at the deadline. Instead, as a result of a foot injury, they're going to have to figure it out based on a much smaller sample. He has played just 11 games in Houston, just six of them alongside big man Christian Wood, who is sidelined with an ankle injury. Oladipo turns 29 in May and is on a $21 million expiring contract; potential suitors need to be confident about his health and his willingness to re-sign.