Of course the problem is that, if you are willing to get westbrook, then you should be hoping to get something else. The biggest trouble with the Irving deal is that if you give Westbrook, and even if you give some picks which Lakers barely have any, you are sending him to Durant, which we all know they both dislike each other and that would be a problem.
Maybe that is why Nets are trying to move Durant first before they take care of Irving. But if they move Durant and then get Westbrook, then they are left with Simmons and Westbrook which we know both of them don't shoot well. It will be a disaster. That is why I do not see Westbrook-Irving trade scenario to happen.
That is what the Nets is trying to do but the Lakers are more interested to get Kyrie Irving rather than Kevin Durant because the latter's trade is much more complicated as it means that the Lakers need to free 2 or 3 players for Durant; whereas if the Lakers get Irving in exchange for Westbrook.
It's too unfortunate for the Nets because they had to come up with this situation because their 2 all-star player wanted to move out after the Nets had done for this two. Back to the Lakers, I believe LBJ is pressuring the management to get Irving though than Durant because the King was vocal that he's still upset with Westbrook.
Read for more:
https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/story/2022-07-11/what-rival-scouts-executives-think-about-lakers-rosterObviously the first thing the Lakers need to do is rid themselves of Russell Westbrook's contract. That has to be the #1 thing. It's probably difficult for them to work with the Nets because the Nets don't want Westbrook and Durant on the same roster. Imagine all the talk on sports broadcasts... I don't believe they want that distraction, so they're trying to do a Durant deal first. They're willing to give Kyrie away to get rid of his attitude, so obviously they need to focus on Durant first. That's the trade piece they want to maximize. I think doing a Westbrook deal first takes a little of their leverage away from Durant talks, as the league knows the Nets won't want those two playing together.