There is a line of thinking that the minute the Brooklyn Nets trade Kevin Durant, it becomes easier for the Lakers to acquire Kyrie Irving. This seems to be the preferred outcome for the organization, and certainly many fans, compared at least to the possibility of acquiring Buddy Hield and Myles Turner from Indiana.

But Boston's potential package for Brooklyn could be really good, including both Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, plus another rotation player and some picks. If that's the case, the Nets would still, in theory, have a very competitive team and wouldn't be in a hurry to jettison Kyrie (who, for what it's worth, says he wants to stay with the Nets) or if they did trade him, would potentially want more instantly useable players than Russell Westbrook.

At least the Lakers would have clarity.

So which trade would ultimately be better? Would the Lakers benefit more from the defense someone like Turner could bring, next to Anthony Davis?

Finally, some housekeeping: We can confirm, via Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, that the big summit call between members of LA's Big Three happened after the Great Summer League Freeze Out, which makes it more plausible that all of these guys are closer to being on the same page than previously thought. For example, maybe Rich Paul was hitting Westbrook's now former agent for spilling Russ's dirty laundry via Twitter, rather than mocking Russ for basically ignoring the truth-telling of Thad Foucher. Maybe, maybe not. But it's more plausible.

And what kind of nickname is Austin Reaves looking for? He's asking for help, but better help than he's been given to this point.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Durant to Boston could be a complicating factor in the Kyrie to LA landscape.

SEGMENT 2: Which deal is better for the Lakers? Indiana or Brooklyn?

SEGMENT 3: On phone calls and nickname solicitations.

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices