Getty Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Brooklyn Nets are in the stickiest situation in the NBA right now. They already had to trade a disgruntled James Harden during the season and now may have to do the same with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. The Los Angeles Lakers have been at the center of the Irving trade rumors but nothing has linked them to Durant yet.
While Durant to Los Angeles is a longshot, it could be the most logical landing spot. The Lakers could offer up Anthony Davis, which is likely the best player the Nets could get in a Durant trade. It remains to be seen if the 12-time All-Star has any desire to team up with LeBron James. Former three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas believes that a trade that sees Davis and Russell Westbrook sent to Brooklyn for Durant and Irving would make sense for both teams.
“Lakers are the only team that’s suited to make a deal work,” Arenas told fubo Sports. “Because it’s less paperwork. I can straight up trade Kyrie for Russ, Kevin Durant for Anthony Davis. It’s a fair trade on both sides. You can possibly give Nets someone young. … But other than that you can do straight up two stars for two stars.
“Both teams feel like, ‘We got something out of it.'”
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Would Either Team Actually Go for This Trade?
If the trade that Arenas is pitching actually happened, it might go down as the biggest trade in NBA history. Durant is one of the three best players in the league and Davis was considered a top-five player before the last couple of seasons. Irving and Westbrook are considered damaged goods at this point but the former is more valuable.
Do the Nets think that Davis’ value is good enough to take on Westbrook? Possibly but they may prefer to just start from scratch and get a treasure trove of draft picks. For the Lakers, this trade would make some sense but they don’t appear too eager to move on from Davis. He’s still just 29 and looked like the future of the franchise just two years ago. If he can return to form, he’s more valuable to the Lakers than Durant would be.
Is Irving Trade Imminent?
Durant isn’t likely to be in Los Angeles anytime soon but there’s still a strong chance the Lakers get Irving. The seven-time All-Star wants to be in Los Angeles and reunite with LeBron. The Lakers have also shown interest but don’t want to give up too much in a trade. A Westbrook for Irving swap would be ideal for the Lakers but that’s not going to happen.
The Nets are going to need to add either Joe Harris or Seth Curry to the deal to make the money work. They’re also going to want some draft picks from Los Angeles. That appears to be the sticking point for the Lakers as they don’t want to give up too much for Irving, who has become difficult in recent years. With Los Angeles the only known suitors for the guard, they may win out in the end.
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