NBA Trade Rumors: The expectation around the league is that the Los Angeles Lakers will eventually circle back to acquire Myles Turner, Buddy Hield from Indiana Pacers.
With how much the Los Angeles Lakers have struggled to open the season, it would be extremely surprising if they didn’t elect to make a trade. And the likelihood is that it probably happens sooner rather than later. The Lakers can’t afford to fall too behind in the standings if they want a realistic shot at the playoffs.
At least for now, it has been maintained that the Lakers are going to be patient before making any moves. However, I’m not sure how much more patient the team can be after getting off to a 1-5 start to the season.
And according to a recent report, when it comes to a mid-season trade, the expectation remains to be that the Lakers will eventually circle back to the Indiana Pacers to acquire Myles Turner and Buddy Hield – a move that the Lakers have been linked to since the offseason.
"The Pacers were undoubtedly watching from afar, feeling pretty good about their hopes of the Lakers caving on both picks with Turner, Buddy Hield and possibly Daniel Theis going to L.A. for Westbrook.…Several executives and agents around the league believe the Lakers will eventually cave, probably for the Pacers deal."
Considering where the Lakers currently are, it’s not exactly a terrible move. It will look that way if this deal eventually gets done because they could have already had Buddy Hield on the roster instead of Russell Westbrook. But I suppose that’s an entirely different discussion for a different day.
Nevertheless, the Lakers are essentially going to have to bite the bullet on this one. The part of where making this move will hurt is when the Pacers are adamant about getting the Lakers’ two future first-round picks.
They are viewed as a couple of the most valuable assets currently on the trade block. And if the Pacers can pry them away from the Lakers, for two players that probably aren’t even in the team’s future, that would be a huge win for the rebuilding franchise.
Even if the Lakers eventually come back to this deal, there’s no guarantee this is a move that will end up fixing everything for Los Angeles. On paper, you would expect Turner and Hield two be exactly what the Lakers need that they don’t have on their roster at the moment.
But it’s no guarantee that this will work out perfectly for them either. It’s a true roll of the dice and could be the Lakers’ last chance of surrounding LeBron James with a championship roster before his career is over.
These are high stakes moves that the Lakers are making right now. And there’s not much margin for error at the moment.