LOS ANGELES – The time technically called for both the Warriors and Lakers to huddle among themselves. But as the end of a second-quarter timeout approached, the Warriors’ Kevin Durant and Lakers’ LeBron James considered that a good time to catch up.

Naturally, the TNT cameramen focused their lenses on Durant and James. Naturally, Durant and James covered their mouths since they knew that millions of lip readers would attempt to decode. It sure beats the intrigue over the Warriors’ 108-90 victory over the Lakers on Thursday without James playing in it after being recently shut down for the remainder of the season.

“Everybody wants to know what we’re talking about,” Durant said. “It wasn’t even that serious. Just laughing and joking and catching up.”

Of course, that explanation might elicit eye rolls.

When he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, James talked with Lakers guard Lonzo Ball after the game. Recently, James spoke with New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis. See a common thread here? They are all players either James will or hopes will become his teammate. So it would only seem natural for James to set his eyes on Durant, who is expected to opt out of his $31 player option to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

“Everybody is so interested, especially in LeBron. So whoever he talks to, the lipreaders are going to try to figure that out,” Durant said. “You guys are infatuated with that whole thing. It’s fun. People try to figure it out.”

Klay Thompson subscribes. You can too for just 11 cents a day for 11 months + receive a free Warriors Championship book. Sign me up!

Durant’s relationship with James stems from squaring off between the Miami Heat-Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2012 NBA Finals, as well as the Warriors and Cavaliers in 2017 NBA Finals and 2018 NBA Finals. Durant also played with James with the U.S. Men’s Olympic team in the 2012 London Games.

Durant respects James, has trained with him in past summers and even participated in a joint interview with ESPN’s Cari Champion about social activism. But those around NBA circles are strongly skeptical Durant would join James with the Lakers for two reasons. It would do little to shake off criticism Durant has fielded for joining a star-studded team in the Warriors two years ago. There is skepticism Durant would respond well to James’ leadership approach that he had for former Cleveland teammates Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in which they often received tough love and public criticism.

Durant has also admitted that he felt “on the same level” as James after making a game-winning shot over him in Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals. Should the two join teams, Durant could not compete against James for NBA titles. Durant will not have a chance to win this year at James’ expense. He will miss the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.

“Is it strange? It’s not really strange,” Durant said. “He’s been on the East Coast for so long. You only run into him in the Finals. It’s weird playing on the West Coast. It don’t feel any different.”

It might feel different for James, though.

“I wonder how that’s going to be for him right after the season,” Durant said. “He can get to do his thing a little earlier than usual. I’m sure he can use the rest. I’m sure he’s pumped and excited about stepping into the summer and getting a whole summer to work on his game and on his body and everything he loves to do. I know it’s going to be a little weird for him. I definitely want to ask him about it.”

Perhaps that might have been weird for Durant to ask James about that during the game. After all, the lip readers might have noticed.

Want Warriors news delivered to your phone? Sign up for a free trial of Mark Medina’s Warriors text messaging service
* * *

WARRIORS HQ PODCAST: Be sure to visit our podcast page at mercurynews.com. You can also get notified of new episodes on iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher and SoundCloud.
* * *

Follow Bay Area News Group Warriors beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.