Lakers Rumors: Longtime LA Trade Target Likely To Be Moved Ahead of Deadline

Will LA pull the trigger on a deal in time?

3-and-D Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner is poised to hit the free agent market this summer. At 26, he's enjoying his most productive season yet for a good Pacers club, currently the 7th seed in the East with a respectable 22-18 record. Through 34 games, the 6'11" big man is averaging a career-most 16.7 points on .549/.380/.783 shooting splits for the Pacers, 7.9 rebounds (also a career-high), 2.2 blocks, 1.5 assists and 0.6 steals.

He's long been considered a major trade target for your Los Angeles Lakers, who apparently came quite close to pulling the trigger on a major deal that would have shipped out veteran point guard Russell Westbrook's $47.1 million expiring deal and some amount of future draft capital in exchange for Turner and volume three-point marksman shooting guard Buddy Hield. Turner himself even explicitly said he and Hield would be worth both of LA's two movable future first-round draft picks, in 2027 and 2029.

Now, it appears that the Pacers may be willing to move on from Turner sooner rather than later.

Matt Moore of The Action Network reported that Turner had been discussing a contract extension with the Pacers last month, but cited "multiple sources" in suggesting that, if the two sides (Turner's representatives and the Pacers' front office) could not strike a deal this week, Indiana would opt to flip the team's long-time center. 

Turner reportedly has rejected extension overtures from Indiana to this point, per Marc Stein in his latest Substack. Should that continue to be the case, it makes sense in theory that Indiana would want to get value back for him if he has his heart set on exploring free agency and possibly departing then. He is currently earning $18 million this season (including a likely $500K incentive). 

A deal sending out the expiring contracts of Patrick Beverley ($13 million) and Kendrick Nunn ($5.3 million) plus at least one of LA's aforementioned two tradable future draft picks, could be enough for the Pacers, who though good are not looking like champs any time soon, and could be open to a soft rebuild as young star guards Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin (the latter of whom is just a rookie) continue to develop.