Lakers Rumors: L.A. Interested In Players Everyone Else Would Be Interested In

Who wouldn't want to trade Russell Westbrook for Kevin Durant?

In one of the sillier "reports" of what has been a report-heavy 2022-23 NBA season for your Los Angeles Lakers, it appears that the L.A. front office would love to add some of the best players in the league to its current core of All-NBA center Anthony Davis and All-Star power forward LeBron James.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes that the Lakers are interested in Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant, Portland Trail Blazers All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard and Washington Wizards All-Star shooting guard Bradly Beal "if any of the three stars were to become available."

Of course they are! Who isn't?

Saying a team would love to add Kevin Durant isn't exactly news, is it? Any team would like to add Kevin Durant, probably even the two clubs he abandoned, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors. Is the Lakers front office so deluded that it thinks it can trade for the 12-time All-Star and two-time Finals MVP by shipping out Durant's former teammate Russell Westbrook and two future first-round draft picks?

If they were serious about a Durant deal, the Lakers would need to put Davis himself on the table, in addition to at least one of the picks. Yes, Davis is five years younger, but he has already dealt with a litany of injuries across his 11 seasons. Durant's game, whenever it actually starts to age, seems destined to age gracefully. He has had his injury issues recently, but when he's available, he's the best player on the floor in basically any non-Giannis Antetokounmpo matchup.

One could say that because they are somewhat overpaid, Lillard and Beal may be more "gettable," but L.A.'s lack of trade assets beyond the two firsts would doom them in any non-Davis exchange, too. Trying to move on from Westbrook to try another Big Three feels very risky, especially when the Lakers actually won a title by simply surrounding Davis and James with depth. In all likelihood, James is now a bit too old, and Davis a bit too injury-prone, for the team to pull off a Heatles-esque Big Three at this stage with the likes of Beal and Lillard, neither of whom is exactly a primo defender.