Lakers News: LA Fans Pushing For This Blockbuster Trade

Just a day away from the 2022-23 NBA trade deadline, Los Angeles Lakers fans are understandably fed up with the state of the team.

Last night, LA celebrated a stupendous achievement from the club's still-amazing 38-year-old All-Star LeBron James, who set a new NBA record in regular season scoring (after the game, the new number is 38,390 points -- and counting) while LA was duking it out against a Western Conference rival for a low play-in tournament spot, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Adam Silver was on hand. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the prior record holder (for nearly 40 years!), was on hand. Magic Johnson, and former James championship-winning teammates Dwyane Wade and Richard Jefferson, were also present to celebrate the greatness of LeBron James.

Play stopped with 10.9 seconds remaining in the third quarter after James officially passed Abdul-Jabbar with a vintage fadeaway jumper. Silver spoke, Abdul-Jabbar handed off a symbolic game ball, James spoke, present colleagues congratulated on the floor. Absent from the fracas was one Anthony Davis, the team's only other great player.

Maybe it meant nothing. Maybe it meant everything.

On a night when LeBron James's past was the focus of the evening, LA faced an uncertain future. When play resumed, the Lakers lost the game, 133-130, as the Thunder's long, switchy perimeter players took advantage of their overwhelmed, smaller Lakers counterparts.

Now, NBA fans have taken to Twitter to request that the Lakers move on from Davis, and they've got one particular return in mind: Brooklyn Nets All-Star power forward Kevin Durant.

A parody Hubie Brown account got into the fun:

With Brooklyn's stance on a Durant trade seemingly on the verge of becoming more tenuous, SB Nation's Anthony Irwin also requested the AD-for-KD flip:

Solid Photoshopping was employed to make a point about the injury-prone nature of Davis (though it's worth pointing out Durant is currently injured and misses at least 20 games a year himself now):

Further Photoshopping was employed to put Durant in the purple and gold:

While Davis is still at terrific defender when he's right, he's often not right. He had a miserable game last night against a Thunder frontcourt that really should not have been much of a deterrent. Durant, meanwhile, isn't just a great defender, he's also one of the greatest scorers in league history, capable of reigning buckets from all over the court. It would be a no-brainer move for Los Angeles, although the team may not have quite the draft assets to pull it off yet (just two first round picks and four seconds are available to LA prior to the draft).