The Brooklyn Nets issued a statement on Tuesday that effectively ended the trade rumors for Kevin Durant, but that’s not a massive surprise.
After the Suns agreed to terms with Deandre Ayton and a sign-and-trade was off the table, there was never an appropriate offer to land KD. The rumors of the Celtics offering Jaylen Brown never felt very legitimate because there was no reason for Boston to blow up their young core that made the NBA Finals.
Especially if the Grizzlies were reportedly not willing to include zero-time All-Star wing Desmond Bane in a trade for the two-time NBA Finals, the appetite for a Durant trade was never strong enough for the Nets to actually find a fair deal. With training camp approaching, Brooklyn’s front office had no choice here except to move on.
Now, any team with Durant (and Ben Simmons!) on its roster is expected to contend for a championship. So there is suddenly less incentive to also trade Kyrie Irving — whose talent on the floor could obviously help a team win a title.
But that’s bad news if you expected Irving as salvation for LeBron James and the Lakers. Due to Irving’s connections to James, the Lakers always made the most sense as his most logical suitor.
The Nets have made it clear to interested teams that they plan on keeping Kyrie Irving, per @ShamsCharania
Sources say he's been 'holding constructive dialogue' with the team this offseason pic.twitter.com/PsDvzsOmId
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 22, 2022
According to Shams Charania, Irving has had “constructive dialogue” with the Nets and they “plan to keep” him for next season (via The Athletic):
“[Irving] also opted into his $37 million player option, committed to the 2022-23 season in Brooklyn and sources with knowledge of the situation say he has been working out with teammates and holding constructive dialogue with the organization this offseason. Brooklyn has made clear to interested teams that they plan to keep the seven-time All-Star, according to sources.”
The New York Post’s Brian Lewis has echoed this sentiment, noting that Irving never actually requested a trade. So with Irving effectively off the table, the Lakers will need to find a different path to improving their roster.
Perhaps the most logical option would be to finalize a deal with the Pacers.
Sneaky winner of the Nets getting through this may be the Pacers, who are one of very few teams who seem inclined to take back Russ in exchange for useful players. Now that the Lakers likely cannot get Kyrie Irving anymore, can Indy finally get both firsts out of them?
— Ti Windisch (@TiWindisch) August 23, 2022
Now that James has officially signed his contract extension, Los Angeles has to maximize the time they have with one of the greatest players of all time.
It’s clear that the Russell Westbrook experiment was a colossal failure, so if they can get off his contract while adding valuable players like Myles Turner (who does not seem destined to stay in Indiana) and Buddy Hield (who has been long coveted by the Lakers) from the Pacers, it’s worth doing as much. But they have to sacrifice all of their remaining draft capital in the process.
There is also the potential for a deal with the Jazz, who are now entering a rebuilding phase after trading Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves. With Utah’s front office likely trading Donovan Mitchell next, they’ll want to trot out as young a roster as possible as they begin tanking for Victor Wembanyama.
We’re something like a week away from the Jazz being able to aggregate the guys they got for Rudy Gobert in another trade.
I would expect Lakers rumors to heat up right around then.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) August 23, 2022
Los Angeles could have an interest in several of the veterans on Utah’s roster, including Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley, Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Jordan Clarkson, and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Once players like Beasley and Beverley and Vanderbilt are eligible for a trade, don’t be surprised if the Lakers begin pursuing some of those names mentioned above.
Otherwise, when surveying what is available around the league right now, there simply aren’t many other paths to improving the roster for the Lakers.
