NBA Trade Rumors: LA Lakers not interested in former Most Improved Player award winner

As the season approaches, the market for the LA Lakers is getting thinner. Realistically, there aren't any players the Lakers can trade for at the moment.

With the recent developments regarding Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets, it seems like the possibility of acquiring Kyrie Irving is less likely to happen.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst even expanded on the idea of trading for Irving. However, according to Windhorst, the Irving trade is solely dependent on the outcome of the Durant situation. Now that both Durant and the Nets have agreed to run it back, an Irving trade to the Lakers seems unlikely to happen.

"The Nets will not do anything regarding Kyrie until they trade Kevin Durant," Windhorst said.

Now that the Lakers aren't fixated on Irving anymore, new trade possibilities have emerged. One available trade for Los Angeles is for New York Knicks forward Julius Randle. While he is available, according to The Athletic's Jovan Buha, the Lakers aren't interested in a reunion with the All-Star big.

One reason might be because the Lakers are already set with their current All-Star big. Plus, playing him in the power forward position looks more logical. It's also worth mentioning that Anthony Davis doesn't enjoy being the team's center for extended periods.

Another reason for the Lakers not trading for Randle is because of his contract. In the 2021 offseason, Randle received a massive paycheck for his impressive season. He became an All-Star for the first time and won the Most Improved Player award. However, he couldn't capitalize and followed it up with an underwhelming season.

Paying Randle $117 million for four years would put the Lakers into a much deeper misery. It's only logical for them to steer away from players with bad contracts.

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What are the options left for the LA Lakers?

LA Lakers vs. Orlando Magic

With the recent news of Durant running it back with the Nets, the LA Lakers will need a miracle to land Kyrie Irving. Now, the question is, what's next for the Lakers?

Throughout the offseason, the Lakers' fate relied heavily on the Durant-Nets saga. They knew they weren't going to get Irving without Durant getting moved by Brooklyn.

So, one possible solution for them is to revisit a trade with the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers are still looking for trade partners for their center, Myles Turner. Additionally, the Pacers are willing to include Buddy Hield in the package. It comes with a price, however. The Lakers will need to package future first-round picks with Russell Westbrook to get back into the playoff picture. It's not the best option, but it's what they have.

Another option is for Los Angeles to run it back with the same core. Obviously, with their offseason moves, their roster isn't the same anymore. But having a go at it again with the big three of LeBron James, Davis and Westbrook might seem like a good reasoning.

The Lakers don't have that many options, and the clock is ticking.