Lakers News: Myles Turner/Buddy Hield Trade Looking Unlikely

And it's not for the reason you'd think.

It appears that your Los Angeles Lakers may not be looking to upgrade their roster much heading into training camp -- at least, not beyond some potential fringe free agent signings.

Ex-All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook and his $47.1 million expiring contract seemed like primo trade fodder this summer, especially after the team dealt for veteran point guard Patrick Beverley and signed veteran point guard Dennis Schröder.

The most intriguing deal that seems to actually make some sense for both sides: a long-rumored trade that would send Westbrook and some level of future draft capital to the Indiana Pacers, in exchange for 3-and-D center Myles Turner and three-point specialist swingman Buddy Hield.

One would assume this trade wouldn't go down because, if anything, the Pacers are confident they can get a better deal for Myles Turner. 

But apparently not!

Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic report that the Lakers want to keep their coffers as empty as possible for 2023 free agency. Hield will be owed $19.3 million in the 2023-24 season, and Turner is currently extension-eligible. So the Lakers are going to take deals off the table that could improve the team right now during LeBron James's age-38 season if the contracts they're receiving in return don't expire in 2023? That seems... pretty silly.

L.A. could have between $30-35 million in available salary cap space to sign someone. Buha and Amick speculate that unreliable Nets star point guard Kyrie Irving could be available at that price, or that free agents like Khris Middleton, Fred VanVleet, or Andrew Wiggins would take a discount to join the Lakers. Middleton and VanVleet have player options for the 2023-24 seasons and could just pick those up instead. Restricted free agent guards Tyler Herro and Jordan Poole are floated as possibilities too, though their home teams would obviously be able to match any contract offer to retain their services. Essentially, there are a ton of caveats with this free agent market. 

Landing the erratic Irving in 2023 is not the home run it would have been in 2017, the last year he played with James. His defense is inconsistent, he has a variety of injury issues, and occasionally he just ditches his team without warning. Middleton is a three-time All-Star coming off the 2021 title with the Bucks, he will command a bigger salary on the open market than the Lakers could pay him -- and, again, he could just decide to opt in to the last year of his current deal. Wiggins will probably also be in line for another maximum salary now (a statement this writer would not have believed he'd be saying in 2022). VanVleet could fit the bill, and actually work as a helpful contributor at the price L.A. would have to pay. Or he could also hold onto his player option for another year.

Herro and Poole are young with upside, but for now neither can be counted on defensively, and lack the offensive consistency of the All-Star players mentioned. Again, there's a pretty good chance that, even if the Lakers did sign either restricted free agent player to a contract that him $30-35 million annually, his incumbent team would just match the offer.

Trading for good players right now, with LeBron James aging and Anthony Davis seemingly falling apart due to injuries, would be the safer play, especially if those players were at the level of Turner and Hield. A starting lineup featuring Beverley at the point guard position, Hield at shooting guard, James at small forward, a hopefully-healthy Davis at power forward, and Turner at center would quickly upgrade the Lakers' standing in the West. A bench selected from the likes of Schröder, Kendrick Nunn, Austin Reaves, Lonnie Walker IV, 2022 champion Juan Toscano-Anderson, and Damian Jones or Thomas Bryant could serve that starting lineup admirably.

Currently, the Lakers need help defensive help and more three-point threats to spread the floor and open up driving lanes for James (now a good three-point shooter himself) and Davis (not so much). Turner, a versatile 6'11" big man, helps in both those departments. He is a career 34.9% shooter from deep on a decent 2.6 attempts per game, excellent for a big man (and just a smidge below last season's league average of 35.6%). Hield, meanwhile, was famously almost a Laker last year in a sadly scuttled deal. The 6'4" shooting guard out of the University of Oklahoma is one of the NBA's elite shooters beyond the arc, with a career conversion rate of 39.8% on a high-volume 7.6 attempts.

The Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, and Charlotte Hornets are the other teams with assets to burn who could be amenable to a Westbrook trade. But the Pacers remain the most intriguing possibility for L.A. to consider, sooner rather than later. LeBron James is running out of time.