Potential Arrival Of Turner, Hield May Alleviate Lakers' Troubles

Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers may have pinched a nerve on the Lakers’ side that could fet an NBA trade done soon.
Getty Images | Michael Reaves

KEY POINTS

Myles Turner and Buddy Hield will give the Lakers a huge boost if a deal happens
The Pacers’ interest in Russell Westbrook puts them in question
Darvin Ham and company could heave a sigh of relief if they land Turner and Hield

The Los Angeles Lakers got their first win at the expense of the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, October 30, a development that could finally steer the purple and gold in the right direction.

Russell Westbrook played a key role in the win when he came off the bench.

However, one win does not mean that all is well in Los Angeles.

A potential NBA trade is still in the air, something that became even louder after Myles Turner’s statement made by Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday, and it appeared pretty clear that he wanted to don the franchise’s signature colors of purple and gold.

“We all know picks are so valuable in this league,” Turner said. “And someone like myself, I’m heading into the last year of my deal, and you wanna make sure you’re getting a return for your assets.”

Speaking to PTV Sports, veteran scribe Roland Lazenby believes a Turner and Buddy Hield deal to the Lakers would make sense, especially considering the team’s struggles at the moment.

“If you want to play for the Lakers, you got to let people know right now. I think that Indiana is a team in a rebuild, they are in difficult straits right now. Myles has played there for a while and I believe that he would love the lights of LA,” the 70-year-old journalist stated.

“And Buddy Hield, he has a perimeter game that the Lakers badly need. I haven’t done the math but you have a couple of veterans with some salary there.”

On paper, there is no question that adding both Turner and Hield could resolve the manpower problems and offense that first-year head coach Darvin Ham has been struggling to solve.

But another looming question pointed out by Lazenby is whether the Pacers would be interested to take in someone like Westbrook.

“Would the Pacers want to take in Russell Westbrook? Would that be a solution? I don’t know. But if they did, boy, that would go a long way of getting the Lakers out of their bind. But I’m not sure what that would do for the Pacers, except maybe open up some room for them down the road. I think those two players would. Darvin Ham and the Lakers would just be delighted,” the senior editor of Lindy’s Pro Basketball Annual stated.