Lakers Rumors: Pacers, Lakers Still Discussing Myles Turner, Buddy Hield Trade

Could a deal still be in play after all?

In a bit of a surprise twist, it turns out that your Los Angeles Lakers have actually been engaged in active conversation with the Indiana Pacers about a potential trade that would send Russell Westbrook and some amount of future draft capital to Indiana, and bring center Myles Turner and shooting guard Buddy Hield to Crypto.com Arena.

During an appearance on Bally Sports, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reports that the deal is hung up on that old chestnut, the exact extent of what L.A. is comfortable surrendering in a trade. As you may or may not recall, this was also a sticking point in the Lakers' chats with the Utah Jazz about power forward Bojan Bogdanovic, now with Detroit.

“I'm told the Lakers and Pacers did engage in some trade conversations this week and the Pacers' demand for two unprotected first-round picks … is just not appealing for the Lakers.”

NBA Insider @ShamsCharania reports on the Pacers' plans to keep Myles Turner into the season. pic.twitter.com/rQjk6DDv0R

— The Rally (@TheRally) September 21, 2022

Los Angeles is reticent to send out both of the only two future first-round draft selections it can trade for now, their 2027 and 2029 picks. That is understandable, given that the team could be in rough shape by then, given the age and injury history of its top talent.

All told, this is relatively good news. As recently as last week, it had appeared that one or both sides had cooled on a possible deal. The fact that a trade continues to be actively discussed should give Lakers fans some hope. Westbrook is not a fit for this Lakers club, as was made abundantly clear during his underwhelming, mostly-healthy performance for L.A. in 2021-22. Both his camp and the Lakers appear to be hoping he can be dealt.

Even if trade talks are still alive between the two sides, it appears that any deal will have to happen in-season. Evan Sidery of Basketball News reports that Chad Buchanan, general manager for the Indiana Pacers, called into Indy station 107.5 The Fan for an interview. During that conversation, Buchanan stated that Turner will be with Indiana for opening night of the 2022-23 season.

Of course, that still leaves 81 other regular season games. With sharpshooting power forward Bojan Bogdanovic now headed to the Pacers' Central Division rival the Detroit Pistons, L.A. lost one of its perhaps most intriguing potential other trade targets (though there are still some interesting vets on the Jazz). Will the Lakers feel the pressure, at some point in the season, and decide to unload both its coveted future picks in a win-now move? It certainly feels like they owe LeBron James that much.