When the Lakers made their trade for forward Dorian Finney-Smith from the Nets, sending out guard D’Angelo Russell, they might well have made the last deal they were going to make ahead of this year’s February 6 trade deadline.
That’s because they viewed Russell as the one significant asset that the team could do without. They have other tradeable contracts–Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt–but those players’ values have been dinged by injuries, not so much by talent. The Lakers are still hopeful to get something out of them this season.
They’re not eager to push them off as salary dumps, especially when they’ve got to tie assets to them in order to bring in other players.
“They’re not looking to make a move just to make a move,” one Eastern Conference GM told Heavy. “They were willing to do that with Russell but here and now, they’re only going to do something if it makes them obviously better. There’s not a lot on the market that makes them better.”
Myles Turner Has Played Well for Pacers
But one player who does stand out as an improvement on what the Lakers have, and a guy who might change their dim view of the current trade market is Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner. There have been indications that Turner–who is a free agent after the season–would be available at the trade deadline, but the Pacers’ recent play (16-5 in their last 21 games) and Turner’s part in that (15.6 points, 48.6% shooting, 40.2% 3-point shooting) has tempered that expectation.
“Do the Pacers want to go for it now? Do they want to see how good this team is as it is currently built, or are they going to look ahead and make a deal for the future?” the GM said. “The price has gone up, where, I don’t think you’d need to have to add two firsts, but you would have to go, first-rounder plus a couple of seconds.”
The other issue for the Lakers is that they’d have to give up a valuable piece to make a Turner deal work: forward Rui Hachimura, another guy they’d rather keep.
Lakers Need a Center for Anthony Davis
Ultimately, though, it is clear that the Lakers are Anthony Davis‘ team, and they’re hoping he can get healthy quickly after suffering an abdominal injury. When he does, L.A. probably owes it to him to deliver the kind of big man for him to play alongside that he hasn’t had since his first season with the Lakers, when the team had JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard.
Davis wants to play power forward, but the Lakers’ efforts to add a true center next to him have been half-hearted, at best. Trading for Turner could change that.
A deal would look something like this: Lakers get Myles Turner; Pacers get Rui Hachimura, Christian Wood, 2029 first-round pick, two 2025 second-round picks (one from the Clippers).
If there is a deal to be had for the Lakers, it’s like Hachimura would be the one to go, and he’d only go for a significant center upgrade.
“He would be a game-changer for them, and there are not a lot of game-changers on the trade market in the frontcourt,” a Western Conference exec said. “Turner is a guy who can help get the best out of AD, who can help you spread the floor offensively and give you more rim protection defensively. I just don’t know if the Lakers would pay the price.”
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