Lakers Rumors: LeBron James, LA to Face Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Nets on Nov. 13

As the 2022-23 NBA schedule reveal is approaching, fans are eagerly waiting to find out the dates of the marquee matchups during the season.

One of the more highly anticipated showdowns will be the LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers against the Brooklyn Nets, which feature the duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Brian Lewis of the New York Post reports that the two teams will have their first meeting of the season on Nov. 13 in L.A.

Both the Lakers and Nets are coming off disappointing 2021-22 campaigns. Both teams had aspirations of representing their respective conferences in the NBA Finals, but they fell well short of expectations.

Los Angeles finished with a 33-49 record and failed to qualify for the postseason. Injuries plagued the team as James missed 26 games, while star big man Anthony Davis missed 42 games. Point guard Russell Westbrook struggled to find a consistent role in his first year with the team.

The Nets went 44-38 to and advanced out of the play-in tournament to face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. But Brooklyn was swept in four games by the eventual Eastern Conference champions, sending the team into a tumultuous offseason.

Durant requested to be traded on June 30, and despite the team's difficulty to find a fair deal to ship away the 12-time All-Star, he hasn't backed down from his stance. The Athletic's Shams Charania reported last week that Durant told team governor Joe Tsai that he would only return to the team if head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks were fired.

Irving has also been the subject of trade speculation, with previous reports indicating that the Nets and Lakers were engaged in talks to swap the 30-year-old in exchange for Westbrook. However, Brooklyn doesn't appear to be enticed to part ways with Irving at the moment, either.

It will be interesting to see how the Lakers' and Nets' rosters look when the two teams meet in November.