After nearly two months in which there was no traction after his trade request, all signs are pointing towards Kevin Durant staying in Brooklyn. With four more years remaining in his contract, the Nets were reluctant to let him leave.
Consequently, Kyrie Irving is no longer expected to be traded either. Now, the team's idea seems to be to keep its core afloat and run things back this season, aiming to do better than in the 2021-22 NBA playoffs.
The Lakers have been heavily linked with Kyrie throughout the offseason, but it appears that they'll have to look elsewhere to improve their roster. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, there are two players we should keep an eye on.
Rumor: Two Lakers trade targets to keep an eye on
“I think as of right now, the Lakers are open to anything that will make their team better. So if there’s a deal out there and they can go get multiple different players that makes the team better, I would keep an eye on Patrick Beverley and Bojan Bogdanovic in Utah," Shams wrote.
"Those are the types of guys that if you can go get two or three rotation players to plug onto your team and kind of get better with some parts those are the types of moves I think you’re gonna see the Lakers try to make. I don’t think that they’re done necessarily, I think they’re gonna still try to get this team better.”
Lakers considering to bring back a familiar face
According to Marc Stein, the Lakers are also considering the prospect of bringing back guard Dennis Schroder, who spent one year in LA during the 2020-21 before leaving as a free agent.
"Re-signing free agent guard Dennis Schröder is a "legit consideration" for the Lakers, league sources say, depending on how the rest of their roster develops. After one season as a Laker, Schröder played for Boston and Houston in 2021-22," Stein wrote.
It is what it is for the Lakers, who would probably prefer to set their sights on a different type of players if they could. This is what they can afford at the moment, and even though they are not the most attractive targets, they would still make them better.
