There have been no indications that the Los Angeles Lakers will get their hands on Kevin Durant this offseason. However, that doesn't mean they won't be involved in a deal. The Lakers don't need Durant, but they need reinforcements for next season.
A Durant trade could get that for them in a multi-team deal. The latest intel from NBA insider Jake Fischer revealed who the top-two teams are that are currently vying for Durant, writing, “Things are obviously fluid at this stage, but the two teams most frequently cited as potential landing spots for Durant entering Saturday's business, league sources say, were Minnesota and Miami.”
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35).
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35).
© Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
If the Heat pull the trigger on Durant, and the Suns' main priority in a deal is to save money, Phoenix could reroute what the Heat send them for salary-matching purposes. That's where the Lakers could pounce.
Andrew Wiggins is among the most likely candidates that the Heat would send out to get Durant. As it turns out, Wiggins was named among potential trade candidates for the Lakers. Jovan Buha of The Athletic named Wiggins among a player the Lakers could realistically go after.
"Looking at the current market, (Nicolas) Claxton and Wiggins are probably the best realistic players the Lakers could get for each of their two big holes," Buha said.
Buha added, "If you can get Claxton as your starting center and Wiggins as your starting three, and you still have LeBron, Austin, and Luka, I really like that starting five together."
Not long after this report, ESPN's Shams Charania revealed Durant would sign a longterm agreement with Miami, the San Antonio Spurs or Houston Rockets if he landed with one of those three teams. This further intensified the buzz around Durant and the Heat, which could also impact Wiggins' future.