Los Angeles Lakers: Sorry, Kevin Durant will never be a Laker

With the Los Angeles Lakers’ added salary cap space next summer, many have begun to think that Kevin Durant could be on his way to LA.

The Los Angeles Lakers have two parts of the super team equation.

Los Angeles has LeBron James, who signed a four-year, $154 million deal on the first day of the offseason this summer. The team also has cap space; Los Angeles signed multiple one-year deals to create flexibility next summer.

The Lakers added to that cap space by agreeing to a partial payback with Luol Deng and an ensuing buyout, giving the Lakers $41.7 million in practical cap space next summer, per Spotrac. That is enough for one max superstar and other depth pieces.

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That is the final missing piece to the Los Angeles Lakers being a true powerhouse and NBA Title contender. One superstar alongside James and a young Lakers core that is only going to get better over the next two years and the Lakers may again become the favorites to win the NBA Title.

One of the superstar names that has emerged is Kevin Durant, who agreed to a two-year deal with the Golden State Warriors this summer with a player option after year one. It is that player option that has sparked the discussion.

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report first brought the Kevin Durant discussion to the table, which has now evolved into a real possibility in some fans’ eyes.

As cool as it would be to see the two best players in the league, it simply won’t happen. While some may assume this will happen since Durant joined the Warriors after winning 73 games, I do not think that he will join LeBron and the Lakers.

First and foremost, we are assuming that Durant is even going to opt out to begin with. While the Warriors will have questions to answer if Klay Thompson signs with another team, that will only fuel Durant to stick around one more season to prove how valuable he is to Golden State.

However, there is also the argument that a third ring for Durant may be enough to satisfy him and examine his options in free agency.

Even if that is the case, the Los Angeles Lakers should not be the favorite. Going home and winning his hometown team a ring, similar to LeBron’s Miami-Cleveland move, could intrigue Durant. Perhaps he heads home to Washington D.C. to bring the Wizards the team’s second NBA Championship.

Heck, there might be a better chance of Durant wanting to bring the people of Oklahoma City Thunder a ring after his ugly departure. The Thunder would have to clear out a lot of cap space to somehow make this happen but the prospects of adding Paul George to the equation might be enough to convince Durant.

And while that might be a long shot, it is still a more likely reality than Durant coming to the Lakers.

Durant has been chasing the shadow of LeBron James his entire career. While Durant has no problem joining a 73-win team that has beaten him, he may have a problem with joining the guy that has kept him from being the consensus best player in the league.

Durant has never been shy in expressing that he thinks he is on the same level as LeBron. If he comes to LA, which will be LeBron’s team similar to the Warriors being Stephen Curry‘s team, the argument of Durant surpassing LeBron becomes much harder.

Durant might not have cared about what team he wins a ring on. What he may care about is his desire to be the best player in the league. Joining the Lakers will hurt that.

So, while the idea of Kevin Durant joining the Los Angeles Lakers certainly is a fun one, it remains a situation that will be exclusive to our imagination.