Lakerholics

The Lakers have moved on from naïve dreams of trading for Kyrie Irving and fatal fantasies about running it back with Russell Westbrook. Now they need to figure out what they really want in a Russell Westbrook trade.

The Lakers’ position according to insiders is that they will not include both of their two available first round draft picks in a Westbrook trade unless the trade transforms them into a legitimate contender to win a championship. The Lakers’ current public position is none of their trade options, including the Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, elevate the team sufficiently to justify giving up two unprotected first round draft picks.

Per the insiders, the Lakers are not willing to take back more salary than they send out in a trade because of the luxury tax impact. Nor are they willing to take back contracts longer than LeBron James’ commitment. Finally, after trading Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson for Patrick Beverley, the Lakers have over $30 million in potential cap space next summer, which they could keep if they only took back expiring contracts.

The good news is the Lakers currently have two excellent opportunities to trade Russell Westbrook and draft capital for at least two legitimate starters or rotation players who would help the team’s need for size and shooting. The best fit would be the Pacers’ Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, which would likely require two first round picks. The alternative could be the Jazz’ Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic, who might cost just one pick. 

Let’s take a look at both Westbrook trades and analyze each trade’s pluses and minuses and try to figure out which trade makes the most sense for the Lakers right now and what will be the major factors driving their decision.

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The Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner and Buddy Hield

Contrary to what the Lakers would like you to believe, trading Russell Westbrook and two first round draft picks for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield would transform the Lakers into legitimate championship contenders.

The Pacers trade is clearly the Lakers’ best option to build a starting lineup and a roster that could legitimately compete for another NBA championship provided superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis could stay healthy. What makes the Pacers’ trade the Lakers’ best option is Myles Turner, who’s the perfect modern two-way center the Lakers and head coach Darvin Ham need to make the Buck’s 4-out offense and drop coverage defense work.

Turner’s a 26-year old, 6′ 11″, 250 lb center who averaged 12.9/7.1/1.0 while shooting 50.9/33.3/75.2%. He led the league in blocks the past two seasons and is a career 34.9% 3-point shooter who can effectively stretch the floor. Aside from being the perfect modern center to fill the Brook Lopez role in Ham’s system as the Lakers’ stretch five rim protector, Turner also gives Anthony Davis the perfect front court mate to dominate the next five years.

Most importantly, Turner gives the Lakers an elite rim protector on the court all 48 minutes of a game and the versatility to play two bigs with Turner and Davis or a small-ball-on-steroids lineup with AD at five like in the bubble. Right now, the Lakers’ biggest weakness is lack of a proven starting center. No disrespect to Thomas Bryant or Damian Jones but there is simply no way the Lakers are going to win a championship with either of them at the five.

Trading Westbrook and two picks for Turner and Hield would be the smartest move the Lakers could make. Despite their claims otherwise, they do know Turner and Hield make them a championship team

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The Utah Jazz’ Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic

Everything in the media about Danny Ainge coveting the Lakers’ 2027 and 2029 unprotected first round draft picks and L.A. being interested in trading Russell Westbrook for Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic is just posturing.

What this is about is the Lakers convincing the Pacers to accept Russell Westbrook plus one unprotected pick and one pick swap for Turner and Hield so the Lakers can keep an available first round pick for midseason. The Pacers want to move Buddy Hield’s two-year contract and are willing to take on Westbrook’s expiring contract for two unprotected picks. Hopefully, they will ultimately agree to accept a pick swap instead of a second pick.

What makes the Jazz and Knicks deal a logical trading partner for the Lakers is the list of legitimate rotation players like Utah’s Conley, Bogdanovic, Beasley, and Clarkson and New York’s Randle, Rose, Grimes, and Fournier. There’s also Danny Ainge’s fascination with stealing what what he envisions as two of the NBA’s most valuable and heavily coveted future draft picks: Lakers 2027 and 2029 Unprotected Post LeBron First Round Picks.

Could the Lakers put together a Westbrook trade with Utah/New York that matched or exceeded what the they could get from the Pacers for two picks or was close to what the Pacers were offering but would only cost one pick? The Lakers could put together a group of three or four elite shooters from the Jazz and Knicks but none of them are better than Buddy Hield nor plus defenders. Additionally, most of them have multiple year contracts.

Two only players whom the Lakers would be seriously interested in from the Jazz and Knicks would be Bogdanovic and Reddish, two wings that would be great fits. But those two are not better than Turner and Hield. Trading for Bogdanovic and Reddish would also cause the Lakers to switch back to James and Davis at the four and five rather than starting unproven Bryant or Jones at the five. A Davis, James, Bogdan front court could work.

In the end, the Jazz and Knick trade could lead to a Lakers trade of Kendrick Nunn for Cam Reddish but it’s nothing more than posturing by the Lakers to see if they steal Turner and Hield with just Russ and one pick and one swap.

Lakers’ fans are about to find out how serious Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka are about going all-in to win a championship. Get ready because we’re at that point right now. Opportunity has knocked. Will the Lakers answer?

Per Jovan Buha of the Athletic, the Lakers understand the best deal they can get for the assets they have — Russell Westbrook and two first round draft picks — would be trading with the Pacers for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. So far, the Pacers have asked for the Lakers’ 2027 and 2029 unprotected first round picks as the price for a Westbrook for Turner and Hield trade and the Lakers have countered with the second pick being a swap or protected.

The Lakers smartly would like to keep one of their first round picks as ammunition to sweeten a possible major midseason trade at the deadline or to combine with their 2023 first round pick in a draft day deal next summer. Besides keeping one of their picks, Pelinka is probably unwilling to make a deal that increases salaries and luxury taxes and prefers to trade only for players with expiring contracts, though that probably depends on player.

To create leverage to get the Pacers to agree to the second pick being a swap or protected, the Lakers are actively seeking a Westbrook trade with the Jazz or Spurs that includes just one pick and no salary and tax increases. That’s a smart strategy as is waiting out the Pacers at this point in time. There is little difference between an unprotected pick or a pick swap to the team receiving the swap since it is by its definition completely unprotected.

In the end, Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss must remember their commitment to their fans as legal guardians of the Los Angeles Lakers brand is to do whatever they can possibly do within reason to win more championships. Their commitment to LeBron James is to use all the tools in their arsenal to surround him with the best possible talent to enable him to win. As is their commitment to Darvin Ham to get him the players he needs for his system.

Nothing is as important as giving the dynamic young coach the Lakers hired to recapture their championship defense and modernize their old school offense a great roster whose skillsets and persona fit what he needs to win. The Beverley trade has given Ham the aggressive point-of-attack guard he needs to fill the role Jrue Holiday played for the Bucks. Now Pelinka needs to get Ham the modern two-way center he needs to fill Brook Lopez’s role.

Trading for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield is the Lakers’ best shot to win a championship this season. Negotiate the best possible terms but walk away from the table with the deal. Not with an empty hand and an extra pick.

When the path to acquire a coveted player is blocked, the smart strategy is often not to abandon that player as a target but to make moves to be in a better position to successfully trade for that player at the next opportunity.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ campaign to satisfy LeBron James’ wishes and land Kyrie Irving now appears to be dead as the Brooklyn Nets are expected to move forward with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving rather than trading them. The problem the Lakers are facing right now what direction should they go? Should they pursue a trade with the Indiana Pacers for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield or the Utah Jazz for Patrick Beverley and Bojan Bogdanovic.

There are two compelling reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers should trade Russell Westbrook and their 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks for a trio of Indiana Pacers players: Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, and T.J. McConnell. First, the trade would transform the Lakers from a lottery to a playoff team capable of competing for a championship. Second, the trade would give L.A. the key tradeable contracts to pursue Kyrie Irving at the deadline.

So let’s take a look at the proposed Westbrook and Horton-Tucker trades, evaluate whether the resulting roster can compete for a championship, and review how the Lakers will be better positioned to trade for Kyrie Irving.

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Turning Russell Westbrook into Three Legitimate Rotation Players

The Lakers’ first step in building a roster that can compete for an NBA championship is to break Westbrook’s $47 million contract into three smaller, more easily tradeable contracts for legitimate rotation players.

That’s exactly what the above proposed trade does. It breaks Westbrook’s massive $47 million contract into Myles Turner’s $18.0 million contract, Buddy Hield’s $21.1 million contract, and T.J. McConnell’s $8.1 contract. Myles Turner becomes the first modern center in Lakers’ history and the defensive rim protector and offensive floor stretcher new head coach Darvin Ham needs to successfully run the Milwaukee Bucks’ 4-out offense

Buddy Hield immediately becomes the Lakers’ starting shooting guard, providing LeBron James and Anthony Davis with the high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter they desperately need to create spacing. McConnell gives the Lakers an accomplished veteran backup point guard who can run the offense with almost a 5:1 assist to turnover ratio and is an elite defender who‘s among the league leaders in steals and deflections.

Frankly, no other Westbrook trade option gives the Lakers three players who are as perfect fits for what the team needs as the Indiana Pacers trade. It gets the Lakers 75% of the way to building a championship roster.

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Turning Talen Horton-Tucker into a 3&D Wing Defender and Scorer

The Lakers’ second step in building a roster than can compete for an NBA championship is to trade Talen Horton-Tucker and a second round pick to the New York Knicks for 3&D wing defender and scorer Cam Reddish.

Finding a bigger 3&D wing to backup James or Davis, guard bigger wing scorers like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and possibly close games when the Lakers play small ball was one of the Lakers’ top offseason priorities. While he’s struggled with injuries and had an offseason with the Knicks, the 22-year old Cam Reddish is potentially the perfect player to fill the Lakers’ needs at small forward. At 6′ 8,” 217 lbs, he can defend and shoot the three.

While the Lakers will start games with Turner at the five and James and Davis at the three and four, their formula for closing games in the playoffs and key regular season matchups is to play small ball with AD at the five. The Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA championship in the bubble with a small-ball-on-steroids closing lineup that boasted a front court of Markieff Morris at the three, LeBron James at the four, and Anthony Davis at the five.

Look for Cam Reddish to fill the role Markieff Morris filled for the Lakers bubble championship team in a small-ball-on-steroids lineup with Reddish at the three, James at the four, and Anthony Davis as the small ball five.

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 Building a Championship Caliber Starting Lineup and Rotation

The Lakers’ offseason makeover could transform the team from a lottery loser to a legitimate championship contender with a dominant starting lineup backed by a deep, versatile, younger and more athletic bench.

Besides trading Westbrook and Horton-Tucker for Turner, Hield, McConnell, and Reddish, the Lakers also should waive Toscano-Anderson and Gabriel and promote Swider to a standard NBA contract from a two-way contract. That leaves the Lakers with a balanced 15-man roster with three point guards, shooting guards, small forwards, power forwards, and centers. The Lakers also have one opening for a two-way player next to Scotty Pippin Jr.

The Lakers’ starting fivesome of Nunn, Hield, James, Davis, and Turner should be among the best in the league. The main backups of McConnell, Reaves, Reddish, Johnson, and Bryant are all outstanding 3-point shooters. The reserves of Christie, Walker, Brown, Swider, and Jones provide Darvin Ham and his player development oriented coaching staff several talented young players who hopefully can grow and develop into contributors.

Trading Russ and THT for for four legitimate rotation players who are perfect fits for what the Lakers and their superstars need catapults the Lakers back into relevancy and the championship conversation.

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Building a Portfolio of Tradeable Contracts for Midseason Trades

Unlike this offseason, when they had just three players earning more than the minimum, the Los Angeles Lakers could position themselves to have six tradeable payers at the trade deadline earning more than the minimum.

Those six tradeable players — Buddy Hield, Myles Turner, T.J. McConnell, Lonnie Walker IV, Cam Reddish, and Kendrick Nunn — represent a total of $64,961,204 of tradeable salaries ranging from $5,250,000 to $21,177,750. Each of six of these players are young or in the prime of their careers and on easily traded contracts, They can be aggregated in multiple ways to match salaries in a midseason trade for a superstar like Kyrie Irving.

Unfortunately, the Lakers will likely not have any first round draft picks available at the trade deadline unless they were able to get the Pacers to accept a pick and a pick swap rather than two picks in Westbrook trade. However, they still have the ability to include a pick swap or multiple second round picks so the Lakers are not totally toothless when it comes to draft capital. Next summer, they will also have their 2023 first rounder.

Unlike last trade deadline, the Lakers will have an impressive portfolio of six talented young players at multiple positions on reasonable contracts whose salaries can be aggregated to matchup in any kind of trade.

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Don’t blink but Rob Pelinka is a blockbuster trade away from pulling off a miracle makeover that could see the Lakers start this season with a roster that’s better and deeper than their bubble championship team.

Think about what a preposterous statement that is because the Lakers, with the roster they have right now, would not even be a play-in team much less a playoff team. But that could change suddenly with a blockbuster trade. What Lakers fans have to remember is LeBron James and Anthony Davis, when healthy and rested, have already shown they can not only lead a team to an NBA championship but dominate the rest of the league while doing it.

What if the Lakers can trade Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, and their 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks for either Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris or Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, Patrick Beverley, and T.J. McConnell? Swapping Russell Westbrook’s $47 million expiring contract for two players like Irving and Harris or for four players like Turner, Hield, Beverly, and McConnell making the same money could transform the Lakers’ rotations.

Let’s compare the rosters the Lakers would have were they to trade with the Nets for Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris or Pacers and Jazz for Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, T.J. McConnell, and Patrick Beverley with the bubble champs.

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Comparing Lakers After Kyrie Irving Trade to Bubble Champs

Let’s first compare the rosters the Lakers would have were they to trade Russell Westbrook and Talen Horton-Tucker to the Brooklyn Nets for Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris with the roster of the 2020 bubble champs.

Starters?

Irving and Harris would be upgrades over Caldwell-Pope and Green. While Bryant adds outside shooting, Howard is still the better center. Bottom line, Lakers’ post Nets trade starters would be better than bubble champs.

Backups?

This chart illustrates the hidden strength of the Lakers championship in the bubble was its backups. While Nunn, Reaves, and Jones are comparable to Rondo, Caruso, and McGee, no current backups match Kuzma or Morris.

Overall?

Even with weak backups, swapping Russell Westbrook for Kyrie Irving gives the Lakers a legitimate superstar big three no team in the league can match. Lakers would be among favorites to win it all if they trade for Kyrie.

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Comparing Lakers After Pacers and Jazz Trade to Bubble Champs

Now lets compare the Lakers roster if they traded Westbrook to the Pacers for Turner, Hield, and McConnell and Talen Horton-Tucker to the Jazz for 3&D point guard Patrick Beverley with the roster of the bubble champs.

Starters?

Trading Westbrook to the Pacers for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield and THT to the Jazz for Patrick Beverley would give the Lakers their best starting lineup in the LeBron era, even better than their bubble champs.

Backups?

While McConnell and Nunn give the Lakers a quality duo of backup guards comparable to what the bubble champs had, Los Angeles still does not have veteran backups who can compare to Kuzma, Morris, and McGee.

Overall?

Featuring younger, more athletic rather than older veteran backups, the Lakers’ roster after trading with the Pacers and Jazz would be bigger, better, and deeper than the roster of the team’s 2020 bubble champions. 

Last summer, LeBron wanted Russell Westbrook. This summer, he wants Kyrie Irving. As expected, the Lakers front office again appears ready to give James what he wants and trade for Irving despite last season’s lessons.

So far, the Lakers have done everything right. They hired a charismatic young defense-first head coach who runs a modern NBA offense in Darvin Ham and revamped their roster to be younger, longer, and more athletic. All the Lakers need to do to miraculously bounce back from last year is trade for players who complement and help James and Davis rather than players who will take valuable touches and points away from them.

Ironically, the Lakers find themselves in almost the same situation as last summer, when they pulled out of a Buddy Hield trade at the last minute to instead trade for Russell Westbrook to become the team’s third superstar. Today, the Lakers know they can trade Westbrook and two first round draft picks to the Pacers for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. Yet, they can’t resist waiting for a chance to trade for Kyrie to be their third superstar.

Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris or Myles Turner and Buddy Hield? Offense plus 3rd star or defense plus depth? Here’s why the Lakers should choose defense plus depth and trade Westbrook for Turner and Hield:

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1. Turner and Hield Won’t Take Touches From James and Davis

Rule #1 for Rob Pelinka and the Lakers is don’t do things that will take away from LeBron James and Anthony Davis. While Kyrie Irving is a huge upgrade over Russell Westbrook, he will take touches from LeBron and AD.

On the other hand, Myles Turner and Buddy Hield will complement and make it easier for LeBron James and Anthony Davis by giving them the spacing and support to enjoy career seasons and regain top-5 standing. Strategically, the last thing the Lakers should do is take the ball from LeBron James and Anthony Davis but that is exactly what happens when you add a third ball dominant superstar like Russell Westbrook or Kyrie Irving.

There’s no argument that replacing Russell Westbrook with Kyrie Irving would be a major upgrade for the point guard position and for the Lakers superstar big three. The question is whether a superstar big three is best. There’s an argument two superstars and a deeper, more versatile roster is a better championship formula than three superstars and a shallower, less versatile roster as there simply aren’t enough touches for three superstars.

The Lakers were lucky injuries kept LeBron and AD from having to sacrifice touches to Russ last season. They need to realize trading for Kyrie Irving will definitely take away touches from LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

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2. Turner and Hield Will Make Lakers Better Defensive Team

The Lakers need to follow up their successful hiring of charismatic young defense-first head coach Darvin Ham by trading Russell Westbrook for the package of players that will make the Lakers a better defensive team.

It’s one thing to say defense wins championships but another to follow through when it comes to making trades but that’s the challenge the Lakers are facing right now. Should they trade Westbrook for offense or defense? Having committed to a 4-out offense with two bigs, the Lakers would be forced to gamble by having an untested young player in Thomas Bryant or Damian Jones start at center should they end up trading for Kyrie Irving.

Trading Westbrook for Turner, on the other hand, would give the Lakers the elite defensive anchor they desperately need. Myles Turner led the league in blocked shots past two seasons and is still only just 26-years old. Turner protecting the rim also frees Davis to play the four and roam the paint as a help shot blocker or play the three and become the Lakers’ wing stopper, which has become today’s most important defensive role in NBA.

Pairing Myles Turner, who led the league in blocked shots the past two seasons, with Anthony Davis would give the Lakers the best defensive front court duo in the NBA and 48 minutes of elite rim protection every game.

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3. Turner and Hield Are Better Fits for Head Coach Darvin Ham

The Lakers only have to look back at the disconnect between the front office and the coaching staff last season to understand the importance of an organization to be on the same page and working in the same direction.

Being a first time head coach in the NBA is a daunting enough challenge without having also to deal with the front office not giving you the players who best fit the kind of offense and defense you want to run as the coach. Asking a brand new head coach like Darvin Ham to resurrect a legendary franchise after one of the worst seasons in its storied history is enough without asking him to deal with Russell Westbrook or Kyrie Irving.

The Lakers would be smart to give Darvin Ham the players he needs to make his offense and defense work. That means a proven rim protecting, floor spacing modern center and aggressive attack dog at point guard. Myles Turner would be the proven shot blocker and 3-point shooter Ham needs instead of an untested youngster and Patrick Beverley could be the 3&D point guard Ham needs instead of the defensively inept Kyrie Irving.

The Lakers need to resist the lure of a third superstar and focus on giving defense-first head coach Darvin Ham the players he needs to build a championship defense by trading for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.

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4. Turner and Hield Will Make Lakers Deeper and More Versatile

The problem with three superstars is it forces teams to build out the rest of their starting lineup and rotations with unproven young players, over-the-hill veterans, or guys coming off injuries who only make the minimum.

The result is a team that is extremely vulnerable to injuries to their big three and lacks the quality in the other starters and first backups off the bench to win, especially when it comes to the high pressure of the playoffs. Building a deep and versatile roster is impossible when you’re paying all three superstars max salaries. Not only are there not enough touches for all three players but there’s no money left over to build the rest of the roster.

Part of the goal of trading Westbrook is to transform him into three players earning $47 million combined. If they trade for Turner and Hield, they will still have assets to add another key piece, like point guard Pat Beverley. Should the Lakers trade for Kyrie Irving, who earns $37 million, the Lakers would not have trade capital to be able to make a second trade for Beverley. And they would start a young center whose never started for a full season.

The Lakers need depth and their goal should be to trade Russ and THT for at least four legitimate rotation players including at least two high impact defenders like Turner and Beverley to give Ham the defenders he needs.