With less than 24 hours to go on the NBA trade deadline clock, the rumour mill has gone into overdrive as fans feverishly wait to see what their team may pull off.
The first big bomb dropped on Monday morning when Kyrie Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks by the Brooklyn Nets.
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With that move the spotlight was thrust onto fellow Nets superstar Kevin Durant as rival teams circled like sharks in the water.
But as the Nets hold fast, it’s on the other side of the country where the action ramped up on Thursday morning.
A day after LeBron James broke the NBA scoring record, the Los Angeles Lakers pulled the trigger on a mega three-team deal.
The trade deadline is set to close at 6am (AEDT) on Friday morning. Don’t miss any of the big news right here.
12pm – Westbrook’s time in LA is over
Russell Westbrook is done as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The MVP guard has been involved in trade rumours consistently over the past 12 months, on Thursday his tenure in LA came to an end.
A three-team trade was reported earlier in the morning, before it became official just after midday.
“ESPN Sources: The Lakers are finalizing deal to land Minnesota’s D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt in trade including Mike Conley and picks to Timberwolves and Russell Westbrook and a top-4 protected 2027 LA first-round pick to Jazz,” Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted.
The Jazz are expected to buy out Westbrook’s contract, making him a free agent on the NBA market.
The trade comes after a reportedly heated altercation the star had with Lakers coach Darvin Ham.
Ham was reportedly frustrated with Westbrook for lingering on the court after he had been subbed out in the second quarter. The two reportedly exchanged verbal barbs in the locker room at halftime.
10am – All eyes on Durant and the Nets
Kyrie Irving is gone so what does that mean for Kevin Durant? That’s the question a lot of rival teams are asking as they wait for the Nets to make a potential move.
Durant wanted out prior to the season commencing and now without his star point guard next to him, his wish might finally be on the brink of being granted.
Wojnarowski reported that Durant and the Nets have been engaged in talks with owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks since Irving was traded.
Sources told Wojnarowski that Brooklyn is insisting to inquiring teams that it “has no intention” of moving Durant before the deadline.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted that rival teams also aren’t wanting to help the Nets improve their roster by handing over a king’s ransom for Durant.
“The Nets, I’m not sure teams really want to do business with them right now,” Windhorst said on a recent episode of his ‘The Hoop Collective’ podcast
“Because there’s at least some teams that are interested in seeing if they can get Durant. And why would I help the Nets do something to build around Durant when I’m just going to hold my assets for Durant.
“There may be other teams that are not even interested in doing business with the Nets right now that might also hold assets at this deadline, with the mind towards Durant, not that Durant would be available, but the Durant will be available again in the summer.”
Story Credit: news.com.au