Locked On Lakers podcast is your daily ticket to stay ahead of the game and the first to know the latest news, analysis, and insider info for the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA. Hosts Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, who have covered the Purple and Gold since 2005 for media outlets including the LA Times, ESPN and The Athletic, offer traditional journalism, informal commentary, and offbeat humor to provide expert, local analysis. Locked On Lakers takes you beyond the scoreboard for the inside scoops on the biggest stories from within the Lakers locker room and all over the NBA. The Locked On Lakers podcast is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.
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episode 1479: Kevin Durant is Staying in Brooklyn, Which Means Kyrie Irving Isn't Coming to the Lakers. Plan B?
So, all that stuff? Just kidding. Nothing to see here, anymore.
Yep, Tuesday saw Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets agree to move forward together in pursuit of an NBA championship. Nothing about this is particularly surprising - short of an overwhelming offer Brooklyn had zero incentive to move Durant and KD had almost no leverage to force the team's hand - but it is nonetheless revealing. The landscape in the NBA has changed and superstars flexing, or trying to flex, are finding that context can make a big difference in determining whether that flex works.
For the Lakers, there are long term implications around stars and star culture, but the more immediate impact? No Kyrie Irving. If Durant ain't moving, neither is Kyrie. So where to the Lakers go now, knowing that their top trade target is off the market, and there aren't exactly a ton of teams clamoring to take Russell Westbrook off their hands?
Does it put more pressure on them to engineer a deal with the Pacers, trying to preserve as good of terms as possible even if it means giving up both first rounders for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield? Does it help them enough? Is there really a better deal to be had down the road, with just two first round picks and little young talent to dangle? In many ways, the Lakers again are deep into Argo territory, trying to find the best bad option they have.
And what about Dennis Schröder? Is there a chance LA's favorite German point guard could make a return this season?
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: Kevin Durant is staying in Brooklyn. Because of course he is.
SEGMENT 2: Kyrie is off the market, so where do the Lakers go from here?
SEGMENT 3: Is there more pressure to make a deal with Indiana? And is Dennis Schröder a good idea?
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