Aloha,
The chatter around the league is that the Hornets are talking to the Pacers about Turner. The Pacers love Hayward and the Hornets have the 13th and 15th pick in the draft this year. It’s very possible that we see Hayward and a 1st going to the Pacers for Turner.
But I don’t think that would necessarily kill a deal for Russ. The Hornets seem to still be interested in Russ. The Pacers owe Scary Terry around 70 mil over the next 3 years. And while he’s a good player he’s not the best fit with Ball, now firmly in charge at point guard. Terry would be a much better fit on the Lakers because he is a decent shooter and can play off the ball. I would suspect we would see Terry and maybe Plumlee to the Lakers for Russ and a 1st round pick. I would love Ubre but if the Hornets move Hayward then they probably want to hold onto Kelly. I actually like this better then Hayward because he’s 32 and hasn’t been able to stay healthy.
Give me Terry and Plumlee any day and I will be quiet for a long time, though Ubre has been a top choice of mine since last offseason. No complaints here.
Almost any Russ trade other than for Randle is a win by breaking it into smaller pieces who can still play. If you don’t like the pieces, combine them with THT and Nunn and the other pick and move them for something better fitting.
The player I would love to get is P.J. Washington. They may not want to keep and pay him with Bridges and Melo coming up the next two years. Throw him in with Terry and Plumlee and it’s maybe better than Hayward. Those three fit the Lakers needs perfectly.
The other thing is from everything I read, MJ does not want to pay taxes. There was even talk he would look to trade Bridges instead of extending him. Hayward’s contract is a lot for most teams to absorb, especially a cheapskate ownership like Indy. Let’s see what happens. Won’t be long now.
https://twitter.com/_TradeDeadline/status/1539224002144743425
P.J. is 23-year old 6′ 7″ 230 bs and career 37.5% on 4.4 3PA per game. He’s athletic and bouncy and averages close to 1 steal and 1 block per game. He’s exactly the kind of players the Lakers should be targeting.