Magic ‘Increasingly Mentioned’ As Potential Destination For Klay Thompson

LeBron James looked refreshed in his return to the Los Angeles Lakers lineup on Sunday. James said he would have liked to have played, but said the team did the right thing by having him take some time off.

“If it was up to just me, I probably would’ve played,” James said. “It would’ve been hard to keep me away from it. I have a team and I got to listen to them as well. They look out for my best interest.”

James who had a stated goal of playing in all 82 games this season, also said the soreness in his left foot hasn’t gone away.

“It’s not behind me,” James said of his foot issue. “It’s an everyday thing.”

Lakers coach JJ Redick said he’ll be focused on trying to find ways to keep James rested and healthy, but without forcing the veteran superstar to take games off.

“Not necessarily less minutes, but shorter runs so that he’s not getting gassed and then quicker segments on the bench and then he’s back in,” Redick said.

The Brooklyn Nets may be coming off their position that they unequivocally won’t trade Kevin Durant, which is a change from their posture last offseason. Brooklyn’s position appears to have changed following the trade request of Kyrie Irving. While Durant and the Nets are discussing their future together, a trade could still be more likely in the offseason than at the trade deadline.

“Now that Kyrie has been traded, maybe the Nets’ position on not trading Durant as it really was kind of last summer may change,” said Brian Windhorst. “That is an interesting development that has happened over the last 48 hours since the Kyrie trade from people that I’ve talked to.”

When Durant requested a trade last offseason, he had the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat atop his list. The Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Pelicans were three other franchises widely considered as having the necessary assets to trade for Durant.

Durant has three more seasons remaining on his contract with the Nets.

What Durant is thinking about his situation is one of the biggest questions in the league that remains largely unknown.