The Los Angeles Lakers are making a late push to get involved in the Kevin Durant trade.
No, they wouldn’t be getting Durant themselves. But they’d have a chance to make NBA history.
The Athletic’s Fred Katz reported Wednesday night that the Houston Rockets’ Kevin Durant deal with the Phoenix Suns could expand into a seven-team bonanza. The five other teams reported to be involved are the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves
The KD trade hasn’t been made official yet, which allows for the late change potential. It’s not expected to include unexpected players, but rather combine some trades that are already agreed upon in an effort to most efficiently align the money movement.
“In a would-be seven-team trade, there is an unprecedented amount of detail,” Katz writes. “Unfortunately, while a seven-team trade would make for a thrilling topic at a cocktail party, there haven’t been many unexpected developments in these negotiations. At least in the iterations of the deal discussed so far, most of the recognizable names are from trades that have already been agreed to and reported but not yet finalized.”
MORE: Lakers make ‘insane’ decision that could jeopardize future with LeBron, Luka
Based on the additional details provided by Katz below, it seems like the Lakers would play a very tertiary role in these proceedings.
“The Hawks would be sending Clint Capela to the Rockets in what would become a sign-and-trade, league sources say,” Katz writes. “Durant would go to Houston. The previously reported return for him, including Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green, would go to Phoenix. Only five players who were in the NBA last season are being discussed in the current iteration of the trade, as of now: Durant, Brooks, Green, Clint Capela and Daeqwon Plowden, league sources say. The rest of the players being discussed are all from already-agreed-upon draft-night trades that are yet to be finalized and can’t be until July 6.”
This would be the largest trade in NBA history. Katz writes that the previous largest was a six-team deal last summer that ended with Klay Thompson in Dallas. There was a five-team trade in 2021 when Russell Westbrook went from the Lakers to the Wizards.
Why not add more teams while you’re at it? The more the merrier.
MORE NBA NEWS:
