Getty Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
The Los Angeles Lakers‘ offseason has come to a halt as they evaluate potential trade options. The most popular trade rumor involving Los Angeles and been regarding Kyrie Irving. The Brooklyn Nets guard could be on the move and the Lakers are the only logical landing spot right now.
However, the Nets may also need to trade Kevin Durant, which is the priority for Brooklyn. While the Lakers haven’t linked to Durant, there have been some calling for the team to offer LeBron James for the 12-time All-Star. It’s a deal that might make sense for the Lakers but it’s sounding like LeBron wouldn’t give his blessing.
According to Fox Sports’ Chris Broussard, the future Hall of Famer is not open to the idea of getting traded to Brooklyn.
“No, because I talked to somebody close to LeBron, and LeBron would not want this to happen,” Broussard said on Fox Sports’ “Undisputed.” “And I think the Lakers respect him enough that they’ll do what he wants to do. If he doesn’t want to be traded, I don’t think they’ll trade him. Obviously, he wants to win a championship, but he’s not desperate to the point where he’s gonna uproot his family in a place where he’s happy to go somewhere where he doesn’t want to be.”
.@Chris_Broussard doesn’t see a LeBron and KD trade swap as a real possibility:
“I talked with someone close to LeBron and he would not want this to happen. The Lakers respect LeBron enough that they’ll do what he wants to do.”
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LeBron Isn’t Getting Traded
While LeBron doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, he’s not getting traded to a team this offseason unless he wants to. He’s 37 and has already established roots in Los Angeles. Considering the team isn’t very good right now, he might be interested in jumping ship but even that appears unlikely.
LeBron is entering a contract year if he doesn’t sign an extension with the Lakers. He’ll be free to choose where he can play after the season. There’s nothing in the rulebook stopping Los Angeles from trading him but it wouldn’t be wise to make an enemy of LeBron and teams around the league won’t want to trade for him if he doesn’t want to be there.
Nets Aren’t Seeing a Lucrative Trade Market
The idea of trading Irving and Durant may have been appealing to the Nets early on when the idea was that they’d get a massive haul in return. That might not end up being the case. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the interest in Durant hasn’t been as high as Brooklyn hoped and the Lakers are the only team showing interest in Irving.
“The market for Durant has not been as lucrative as the Nets were hoping, and the market for Kyrie is very thin. It’s essentially the Lakers, and the trade offer isn’t great,” Windhorst said on “Get Up.”
The fact that there isn’t much of a market for either star works against the Lakers. The Nets may just hold onto both stars this season and see if they can get an offer they like down the road. If the Nets can find a landing spot for Durant, that’ll help their chances of getting Irving. If they can’t, then Los Angeles may need to look at different options.
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