The 2025 offseason projects to be one of the craziest in recent NBA history. The incoming draft class is flush with big names and remarkable upside, free agency will be headlined by multi-time All-Stars, and the trade market could be profoundly active.
The latter development will likely be led by Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant, who has already set the rumor mill ablaze.
Durant is one of the greatest and most decorated players in NBA history. A four-time scoring champion who boasts an MVP award, two Finals MVP honors, and 11 All-NBA nods on his résumé, there's no possible way to dispute his generational talent.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Durant and the Suns will discuss a trade to a contender during the offseason if Phoenix is unable to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Reporting for ESPN NBA Countdown on the Suns, Kevin Durant and what's at stake: pic.twitter.com/69UeeowSOP
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 2, 2025
It may be an exhausting exercise to link the Lakers to any big name that surfaces, but there's a polarizing reality to consider with a potential Durant trade.
Are the Lakers the right contender for Kevin Durant?
Assuming the Lakers are able to meet the Suns' asking price, they'd walk away with one of the most star-studded trios in the NBA. Luka Doncic and LeBron James would be joined by a generational scorer in Durant, thus forming the ultimate big three—on paper.
The harsh reality of this potential trio, however, is that Durant and James will both be 37 or older next season, and injuries are a concern with both.
Durant has missed just 22 games between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, but he missed 35 in 2022-23 and 27 in 2021-22. James, meanwhile, has missed at least 25 games in four of the past seven seasons, and is currently nursing a groin injury.
For that matter, Doncic has missed at least 15 games in four of his seven NBA seasons, including 31 during the 2024-25 campaign.
That painful reality must be taken into account, especially when one considers how injuries have derailed Durant's past two attempts at building a big three. That includes his current partnership with Bradley Beal and Devin Booker in Phoenix.
For the Lakers, maximizing James' remaining time in the NBA requires a brash approach to accepting reality, and trading for Durant might not fall within those parameters.
In saying that, there's no way around how dominant the trio of Doncic, Durant, and James could be. All three players have scoring titles and a minimum of one trip to the NBA Finals as the go-to player on their respective résumés, and each has proven capable of playing alongside another star.
One simply can't help but question if the opportunity cost and their respective injury histories would make this a trade worth completing.