Getty Image / Christian Petersen
Despite their disappointing 2021-22 season and the fact that LeBron James only has so many years left as the star of a contender, the Los Angeles Lakers have yet to make a splash during the NBA offseason.
In fact, this week it began to seem like that might be running it back with the same core as last season as LeBron, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis reportedly committed to taking another shot at contending together.
The Lakers might not be as committed to that idea. According to NBA reporter Dave McMenamin, despite the fact that a swap of Russell Westbrook and Kyrie Irving has seemingly lost steam, the Lakers are still engaging in trade talks involving Westbrook.
McMen: “One thing I have learned over the last day or two, there have been talks re-engaged between the Lakers and Indiana Pacers”
The deal would be centered around Westbrook for Buddy Hield and Possibly Myles Turner. pic.twitter.com/NgtEIBHnUf
— AJ ™ (@AJsHoopHype) July 20, 2022
One thing I have learned over the last day or two, tangentially, there has been some talks reengaged between the Lakers and Indiana Pacers. Now, that would center around a Buddy Hield deal and could it be that would include Russell Westbrook in terms of also having Myles Turner in that deal? Or perhaps it could be a secondary move where you would be talking about a Talen Horton-Tucker type of package to try to get Buddy Hield deal so we would see whether that would affect Russell or not.
Hield just might be the best fit available to the Lakers right now. The Lakers still need shooters around LeBron and Westbrook and Hield is a very good one, knocking down nearly 40% of his 3-point attempts throughout his career.
It’s not clear what the Los Angeles Lakers would need to give up to make this deal happen, but offloading Westbrook and bringing in a reliable shooter sounds like a best-case scenario as they try to bounce back from last season.