Getty LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
When you think back to the Los Angeles Lakers‘ biggest flaw last season, spacing is probably among your top two answers, right next to unhealthy superstar talent.
And in all honesty, it’s that same lack of spacing that made Russell Westbrook’s debut season in Los Angeles turn into a nightmare. The fact of the matter is, despite LeBron James’ vastly improved perimeter game, the Lakers are comprised of three stars who all love to pressure the rim and attack the paint. And without multiple elite shooters surrounding them, things were always destined to fail.
Regardless of how hard the Lakers have tried, moving on from Westbrook, in the final year of his current contract, seems like a monumental task – but for Lakers fans, the thought of running it back with the same star trio is enough to give them nightmares.
REPORT: The Lakers offered Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, and a first-round pick for Kevin Durant. The Nets declined.
Luckily, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey seems to have a solution, as in his August 3 article, the NBA analyst proposes a blockbuster trade that would not only resolve the team’s perimeter scoring issues but also unclog the paint for LeBron and Westbrook to be the best version of themselves.
In a nutshell, the trade is a straight swap, with Anthony Davis heading to the Brooklyn Nets, and Kevin Durant coming in the opposite direction.
“Davis is four years younger, but his injury history isn’t much more encouraging than Durant’s. And as LeBron James edges closer to retirement, the move should be surrounding him with more shooting…The title window for a team with LeBron and Durant wouldn’t be open for too long, but it would be wide open. Assuming availability (a big assumption, for sure), an offense with LeBron operating in the middle of the floor and flanked by Durant and Irving would be a nightmare,” Bailey proposed.
Durant to Meet With Brooklyn’s Owner
When you’re among the best players in the world, you’re under contract for another four years, and you’ve handed in a trade request, it’s only logical that you would get a direct line to the franchises ownership group. And that’s precisely what’s happening with Kevin Durant, as according to a recent report by Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett, the superstar forward is set to meet with Joe Tsai later this week.
“What I’m hearing is that KD is going to meet with the owner this week. He’s going to go directly to the owner, Joe Tsai, sometime this week. We’ll see how that works…“I don’t know. I have no idea what’s going to come of that meeting. There are some things that KD is unhappy about, and I’m not sure any of that gets fixed here. But maybe it does,” A league executive told Bulpett for his August 2 article.
New:
Source tells me Kevin Durant is expected to meet with Nets owner this week: “I have no idea what’s going to come of that meeting. There are some things that KD is unhappy about, and I’m not sure any of that gets fixed here. But maybe it does.”
While there’s no telling what the meeting is about, or what the discussions will entail, it will be interesting to see whether Durant or the Nets’ stance on the current saga softens, especially as Brooklyn would still be considered championship contenders if they could retain both Durant and Kyrie Irving heading into next season.
LeBron James Wants Lakers To Trade Westbrook
Swapping out Davis for Durant makes perfect sense in terms of spacing for the Lakers, after all, this is a team that finished 22nd in three-point percentage last season – an issue Durant could fix almost singlehandedly.
However, according to a July 29 report via Marc Stein’s newsletter, LeBron would prefer the Lakers found a way to trade Westbrook, with Irving being the ideal return to appease the aging superstar.
The week in NBA words (so far) …
Decision time for LeBron James is just a few days away as he becomes eligible for a contract extension with the Lakers. Full coverage: t.co/bNvy3UP2oS
A look at international free agency + some travel tales:
“As it stands, barring a trade to ship out Westbrook suddenly coalescing after weeks of fruitless talks, (Darvin) Ham is going to have to coach Westbrook, which is bound to be challenging in the extreme given that Westbrook is well aware that the Lakers have been trying hard to move him,” Stein reported. “And that James badly wants Irving to take his place,” Stein wrote.
Irving might be the ideal replacement for Westbrook, but so far, the Nets have withstood the Lakers’ overtures, and unless Los Angeles’ front office is willing to up their bid, there is a legitimate chance Westbrook will see out the final year of his deal while wearing the purple and gold – but that doesn’t mean the Lakers can’t look to make another blockbuster trade in the meantime – especially if they believe Durant is the key to winning another championship.