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Lakers’ Offers for Turner Or Kessler That Pacers And Jazz Cannot Refuse

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With Davis likely to be out until after the All-Star break, the Los Angeles Lakers need to stop searching for the ‘best’ deal and focus instead on offers for Turner or Kessler the Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz cannot refuse.

Myles Turner and Walker Kessler are clearly the two center trade targets who would be the best fits as starting fives alongside Anthony Davis in a two-bigs lineup that could transform the Laker’ championship aspirations. The challenge facing the Lakers is they’re likely going to have to overpay to get Turner or Kessler. They’re going to have to make an offer that is so good the Pacers and Jazz have no option but to accept the Lakers’ offer.

While the Lakers claim Davis’ injury is not serious enough to change their trade deadline plans, the simple reality is that the Lakers are likely to miss Anthony Davis until teams return from the All-Star break on February 19th.
The Lakers are currently still 5th in the West with a 26–19 record but will face a challenge to prevent sliding into and out of the play-in tournament as they will struggle to survive the next 7 games without Anthony Davis.

The Lakers need make a trade for Myles Turner or Walker Kessler right now. Every day Rob Pelinka waits hoping for a better deal just increases the odds that the Lakers will surely miss out on the ‘right’ players by waiting.
Without AD, the Lakers will be lucky to go 3–4 the next 7 games, leaving them at 29–23 and #7 seed. Going 2–5 would plunge them to 28–24 and #9 seed and going 1–6 would leave them at 27–25 and out of play-in at #11.

The Lakers must get serious and go all-in with offers the Pacers and Jazz simple cannot turn down. They have enough draft capital to make a trade with both the Pacers and the Jazz. They just need the will and courage.

The Myles Turner Trade

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The Lakers should offer the Pacers the contracts of Rui Hachimura and Jalen Hood-Schifino plus their unprotected 2029 first round pick, 2030 first round pick swap, and 2031 unprotected first round pick for Myles Turner.

Long coveted by the Lakers, Myles Turner is the perfect modern two-way stretch five center to play alongside of and backup Anthony Davis when he goes to the bench. Time may have finally come for the Lakers to get Turner.
There’s no question Myles is probably the best possible fit as a second big next to AD. While the Lakers have chosen to pass on trading for Turner in the past because he was not a ‘superstar,’ the timing right now is perfect.

The Indiana Pacers would have no option other than to accept the Lakers offer of three post-LeBron James unprotected first round picks for Turner. The Lakers post-LeBron picks would be the gold standard of draft capital.
L.A. would also have no problem expanding the trade to other NBA teams. Indiana could turn around and use the 2030 pick swap to expand the trade to include Portland and Robert Williams III or Toronto and Jacob Poeltl.

The Lakers could add other players like Lonzo Ball or Bruce Brown to the trade to address their need for better point-of-attack perimeter defense and to replace D’Angelo Russell’s volume 3-point shooting and elite playmaking.
Both Ball or Brown could likely be acquired for the Lakers two available second round picks and would immediately help improve their perimeter defense and upgrade their overall team speed, size, and athleticism.

The Lakers need to stop searching for ‘best’ deal and make the Pacers an offer for Myles Turner that includes three shots at a #1 draft pick via L.A.’s 2029, 2030, and 2031 post-LeBron James unprotected first round picks.

The Walker Kessler Trade

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The Lakers should offer the Jazz the contracts of Jackson Hayes and Cam Reddish plus their 2029 unprotected first round pick, 2031 unprotected first round pick, and eliminate protection from their 2027 first round pick.

A dynamic young center, 23-year old Walker Kessler is the perfect bruising defensive center to play alongside of and backup Anthony Davis when he goes to the bench. Kessler’s youth and rookie contract are huge pluses.
While Kessler cannot space the floor like Turner, his overall upside due to his young age, cheap rookie contract, and low trade cost in matching salaries make him the best option for the lakers to pursue financially.

The Utah Jazz should have no option other than to accept the Lakers offer of essentially three post-LeBron James unprotected first round picks for Kessler. Utah would have the Lakers unprotected 2027,2029, and 2031 firsts.
L.A. would also have no problem expanding the trade to other NBA teams. Danny Ainge would love to add the Lakers post-LeBron unprotected first round picks to his unprotected post-Kevin Durant 2031 first round pick.

One of the big benefits of trading for Walker Kessler is he would not require the contract or contracts of any rotation players, which means the Lakers would have all their tradable contracts available for a second move.
That second move for a point-of-attack perimeter defender like Lonzo Ball or Bruce Brown would be easier to make after a Kessler trade than a Turner trade, which would force the Lakers to move Vincent and Vanderbilt

The Lakers need to stop searching for ‘best’ deal and make the Jazz an offer for Walker Kessler that includes three shots at a #1 draft pick via L.A.’s 2027, 2029, and 2031 post-LeBron James unprotected first round picks.

Random Thoughts

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Aloha,

Well that was ugly. Now there is context here. We were ahead when AD went down and Jackson demonstrated again that he shouldn’t be the primary back up to AD. Even Koloko is a better option.

Then Gabe was still out. Gabe is always in about every trade proposal for a center. But we saw what that would look like with Shake and Bronny as our 2nd unit ball handlers. Both were awful. You can’t trade Gabe unless we do something about another guard as well. At least Gabe’s defense has been pretty good. He would have been helpful against Maxey for sure.

Vando also would have helped against Maxey but they are not playing him
on the 2nd night of back to backs yet.

Now Rui came back but he was on a minute restriction due to the injury recovery. And DFS was in foul trouble and only played 17 minutes.

Considering it was the 3rd game in 4 days and the 2nd game of a back to back. So They looked tired. One could say that the 76ers had it worse. And they did without PG and Embid but they have been playing surprisingly well. They beat the Cavs without Embid. And the last 3 with PG out as well. They beat a completely healthy Kings team today.

Can a stat line of 31 points, 8 boards and 9 assists be considered a bad game? Yes, because LeBron accomplished that last night. We gave up 28 points on 22 turnovers and LeBron had 8 of the turnovers. That’s now 13 in the last 2 games. It seemed like every Lebron turnover led to points and so many were just stupid. And it wasn’t just turnovers. For the 2nd game in a row his defense was nonexistent. Even half his points came in the 4th when the game was over. He could use some rest but that probably won’t happen until AD is back.

So any bright spots? Well Dalton continued his hot shooting but he was picked on, on the defensive end and with so many of our best defenders out or crippled by fouls, it was hard to hide him.

This game highlighted our biggest weaknesses. We need a decent backup center. I know a lot of folks would like another starting center, but then LeBron would have to guard the 3 and we keep seeing what that looks like.

What we do need is a center that can defend, rebound and protect the rim at a reasonable level. We are not getting someone like Kessler.

And unless you love Shake and Bronnys game we could use another playmaking guard and hopefully he can score a little.

The problem is the trade market currently is stalled. Until Butler, Fox and LaVine situations are settled nothing is going to happen. All these sellers are not only holding out for teams willing to overpay for the few players on the market, they are also waiting to see if they can get a an asset or two by becoming a third or 4th team in one of these trades because they will be complicated deals.

I don’t see anything happening until the last day or two before the deadline. Hopefully there will be a deal available that can help the Lakers.

AD out for a week?

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That’s at a minimum, that kind of injury has to fully heal or you’re looking at something potentially serious and could threaten the season. This will certainly sink the road trip and, depending on how long he’s out, maybe the season.

We already know this team only goes as far as AD can take us. I think there are 2 questions the Lakers need to really confront honestly:

1) Is this season still worth going all in on of AD missed extended time?
2) Is AD really the guy you want to build around?

The Shams interview showed us he still is pining to play the 4 even though that weakens the starting line up significantly as it forces LeBron to the 3 where he cannot keep up defensively.

AD has issues being the offensive focal point, issues staying on the floor and had benefitted greatly from operating in the shadow of LeBron.

If you’re not building the team around AD it stands to reason you deal with his background issues and desires and keep him at his best position: center.