Lakers Rumors: Kevin Durant to join LA, but do the Lakers need him?
By Ronald Agers
Los Angeles Lakers rumors never stop when it comes to upgrading the roster. Superstar players are linked to them in one or another, and that will continue as long as the team has cap space. Now, Kevin Durant is the next player mentioned.
Kevin Durant and LeBron James both played games on Sunday night and ran it back Wednesday night. The results represented how their teams are doing recently. LeBron James took his talents to South Beach and dropped 51 points on his old team, the Miami Heat, winning 113-97. Kevin Durant’s Golden State Warriors went into San Antonio and got dropped off losing 104-92.
After Magic Johnson went wild on Luke Walton about the direction of the team at 2-5, all of a sudden the Lakers are at 11-7 and are that far over the .500 mark for the first time since the Obama administration (I think the first term folks!).
With a victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in LeBron James “Holiday Reminisce” tour, the Los Angeles Lakers will be thankful for their record along with the Thanksgiving turkeys getting carved.
On the other hand, the Golden State Warriors are going in the opposite direction. They started on a smashing run before Stephen Curry had to sit out with a groin injury. That is a major reason why the champs are on a slide, but most will believe something else is amiss in Warrior land.
Last week, almost to the day the Warriors showed the NBA world a chink in their armor when Draymond Green and Kevin Durant got into an argument on the bench before overtime before falling to the Clippers.
It seems that the underlying issue with the big blowup seems to be about Durant’s upcoming free agency…
Kevin Durant signed a two-year deal with Golden State Warriors in the offseason. But the rub here is that with KD’s player option, he can opt out of his contract and leave in the summer for the big 2019 free agency bonanza.
Anyone remember when Kevin Durant just came off his second of back to back championships and Finals MVPs? LeBron James was known as the guy that laid down and quit in the clinching game? It seemed that KD was ready to take over the mantle of the unofficial “Best Player in the World” title.
Didn’t happen, folks!
Now the rumors of Kevin Durant is tired of being a Warrior and leaving after this season are rampant. With a current losing patch and drama surrounding the champions, some have declared Durant a goner at the end of the season.
Couple any eligible big name free agent and rumors and put them together and you have one team that is constantly being linked in the media.
Your Los Angeles Lakers.
This article is not about who’s the better player, who’s got the better stats, whatever. If you want all of that, there’s a Twitter feed somewhere that can give you all of that and then some. This is about what happens behind the numbers.
It is a foregone conclusion that if Durant comes to Los Angeles, barring injury, you could possibly Sharpie the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. The numbers from LeBron James and Kevin Durant are too superior to any combination in the NBA.
But based on the personality of one Kevin Durant, will it work?
Lake Show Life took a look at one possible big-time free agent in Kawhi Leonard over the summer on the same subject…
Let’s look at the other side of dealing with Kevin Durant!