Lakerholics

A Lakers Fan Community

Indiana Pacers

Lakers Double Down On Size And Defense In Trade For Myles Turner

By 10 Comments

The smartest move the Los Angeles Lakers could make this midseason is not to sacrifice depth for a third superstar but instead double down on size and defense as their championship identity by trading for Myles Turner.

The Lakers have clearly seen how playing next to a modern stretch five center like Christian Wood unlocks the best possible version of Anthony Davis as a superstar and makes the team more competitive and dangerous.
Rather than gamble on a better fitting and more complementary version of Russell Westbrook, the Lakers would be smarter to trade for Myles Turner and a deep and diverse roster as their path to more NBA championships.

Darvin Ham has already shown his hand with respect to size and defense at the two guard position, where the defensive oriented 6′ 7″ Cam Reddish or 6′ 9′ Jarred Vanderbilt are projected to become the starting shooting guard. The next logical step is to trade for stretch five center Myles Turner and move Anthony Davis and LeBron James to the four and three. That would give the Lakers great positional size advantage at almost every position.

Trading for Pacer’s center Myles Turner and doubling down on size and defense as the keys to winning in today’s NBA and establishing the bully ball physicality and identity the Lakers want for their basketball team.

THE TRADE

While the Pacers have gotten off to a 6–4 start to the season with an offense performing at an unsustainable level and a defense that sucks, chances are high they’ll become sellers rather than buyers by the middle of December.

While the Lakers can offer a package of young players under 30 to match salaries, any trade for Myles Turner will require significant draft capital from the Lakers, in the form of at least a lightly protected pick and swaps.
In addition to their top-5 protected 2029 first round pick, the Lakers could also include their 2027 first round pick if first through fourth and pick swaps for their 2028 and 2020 first round draft picks in a Turner package.

With the great play of Tyrese Haliburton and a bevy of talented players under 23-years old, the Pacers hope to be good enough to make the play-in tournament this season. If those aspirations fail, the Pacers will be sellers. The Pacers do have two coveted veterans in 27-year old center Myles Turner and 30-year old elite 3-point shooter Buddy Hield, whose time to be sold high for top dollars in return for draft capital may have finally come.

The Pacers need young players who can defend and a deal to acquire three valuable young prospects and one or two post-LeBron James first round picks or swaps from the Lakers could happen as soon as December 15th.

THE DEPTH CHART

The immediate impact of trading for Myles Turner is the Los Angeles Lakers will suddenly have the biggest and best defensive starting lineup and deepest and most diverse 10-player rotation in the entire league.

The Lakers’ starting lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Cam Reddish, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Myles Turner would have positional size advantage that few teams in the NBA would be able to match or counter.
The Lakers would have a starting lineup that’s bigger, longer, and more athletic than any other team and physically capable of totally dominating opposing teams in the paint, on the boards, and from the free throw line.

The Lakers’ primary backups of Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Christian Wood, and Jaxson Hayes could be the deepest and most diverse bench and anchor the best 10-man rotation in the league.
The Lakers would have everything needed to cruise in the regular season and peak in the playoffs. Two elite rim protectors. Two elite stretch bigs. Two elite point-of-attack perimeter defenders. Two elite playmakers.

Trading for Indiana Pacers’ center Myles Turner is the ultimate move by the Los Angeles Lakers to build what could be the NBA’s next generation defense with major positional size and length advantage at most positions.

THE SALARY CAP

While the Lakers sacrificed valuable draft capital to acquire Myles Turner, they have actually improved their salary cap position because they now possess over $70 million in coveted players on team friendly contracts.

Have players that other teams covet on under market contracts will enable the Lakers to take advantage of star players suddenly becoming available. Trade assets include Turner, Russell, Hachimura, Reaves, and Vanderbilt.
Assuming the Lakers did not give up more than their 2029 first round pick and the 2027 first round pick if it’s top-4, they should then have enough draft capital next summer to offer at least 1 first round pick and 2 swaps.

For the second year in a row, the Lakers have also remained below both luxury tax thresholds thanks to negotiating under market contracts with many of their players and attracting talented players on minimum deals.
The Lakers success with minimum contract projects like Jaxson Hayes, Rui Hachimura, and Cam Reddish — the 8th, 9th, and 10th picks in the 2019 draft — is the only reason the Lakers can afford to trade for Myles Turner.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ trade for Myles Turner would not only make them a championship defensive team but also leave them with great depth and enough draft capital to make a blockbuster deal to replace LeBron James.

How Lakers Could Trade for Turner and Hield and Still Bring Back Team

By 13 Comments

The formula for the Lakers winning their 18th NBA title next season is to add Myles Turner and Buddy Hield to a core of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Lonnie Walker, and Max Christie.

The Lakers almost traded Russell Westbrook for Turner and Hield before the start of training camp last season but ultimately decided to wait until the trade deadline, which in the end looks like it was the right decision. Having made it to the conference finals, the Lakers still need more size and better shooting and defense to truly compete for an NBA championship. Ironically, what they need right now is Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.

Ultimately, the Lakers decided not to trade for Turner and Hield last summer because they did not believe adding them to the roster the team had at that point in time would have made them a championship team. Obviously, Pelinka’s trade deadline makeover changed the answer to that question. Adding Myles Turner and Buddy Hield to the conference finals team would make the Lakers favorites to win their 18th championship.

Let’s look at what a Lakers’ trade for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield might look like, why the Lakers and the Pacers would make the trade, and what the Lakers’ depth chart and salary cap would look like after the trade.

The Turner and Hield Trade

The Lakers trade Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba, Jarred Vanderbilt, #17 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, and team’s unprotected first round pick in the 2029 draft for Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, and Indiana’s #29 pick in this draft.

The Pacers have the #7, #26, #29, #32, and #55 picks in this draft, which is more picks than they have roster spots. Their goal is to combine their #7 pick and the Lakers #17 pick to move up into the top-5 in the current draft. Because they have more picks than they’re able to use, the Pacers are willing to give the Lakers their #29 pick, which they originally received from Boston. The Lakers give up two high first rounders for one low one.

One interesting aspect of the trade is the two teams are swapping stretch centers and 3-point shooting guards. In Bamba and Beasley, the Pacers essentially receive poor man’s versions of Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. Bamba and Beasley could slide right into the rotation spots occupied by Turner and Hield. Since both are on reasonable contracts, the Pacers could also flip them before the trade deadline for younger players or picks.

While Beasley and Bamba have value as players and trading chips, it’s Jarred Vanderbilt and the Lakers’ #17 pick in this draft and their 2029 first round pick unprotected that make the trade a big win for the Pacers.

Why the Lakers Make the Trade

While trading for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield last summer might not have made the Lakers a championship team, adding the modern two-way center and elite 3-point shooter now could make L.A. the title favorites.

Despite successfully making it to the conference finals, the Lakers need more size and better shooting and defense to be a legitimate championship contender. That’s exactly where Myles Turner and Buddy Hield come in. Turner gives the Lakers an elite modern two-way center to anchor the defense, allowing Anthony Davis to split his minutes between the 4 and 5 and giving the Lakers solid positional size advantage in the front court.

27-year old Myles Turner had a career last season, averaging 18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2.3 blocks, and 0.6 steals in 29.4 minutes per game while shooting 54.8%/37.3%/78.3% on 11.8/4.0/4.5 shot attempts per game.
30-year old Buddy Hield also enjoyed an excellent last season, averaging 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 31.0 minutes per game while shooting 45.8/42.5/82.2% on 13.0/8.5/1.6 shot attempts per game.

Trading for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield dramatically improves the Lakers’ size, shooting, and defense and transforms last season’s conference finals team into a legitimate contender to win the NBA championship.

Why the Pacers Make the Trade

It looks as if the Indiana Pacers’ refusal last summer to lower their price of two first round draft picks for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield could end up paying off big this summer as the Lakers could revisit an Indiana trade.

Despite wanting to make the playoffs, the Indiana Pacers should move on from 27-year old Myles Turner and 30-year old Buddy Hield and rebuild around 23-year old Tyrese Haliburton and 20-year old Bennedict Mathurin. The Pacers want to upgrade their roster this summer with a small or power forward with star upside and are said to be interested in packaging their #7 pick with other assets to move up and draft a specific player in the top-5.

Besides finally landing the Lakers’ 2029 unprotected first round pick they coveted last year, the Pacers could package their #7 pick with the Lakers’ #17 pick to move up for whatever player they’re targeting in the top-5. Finally, receiving a talented young defensive wing like Jarred Vanderbilt and two tradable players on expiring contracts whom they can flip at the trade deadline make this trade a big winner for the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers rebuilding efforts will get a big boost by landing the Lakers #17 pick in this month’s draft, L.A.’s unprotected 2029 first round draft pick, and a promising young, defensive wing in 24-year old Jarred Vanderbilt.

Lakers Roster After the Trade

The Lakers’ starting lineup after the Pacers trade includes Austin Reaves, Buddy Hield, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Myles Turner with backups of Chris Paul, Max Christie, Lonnie Walker, Rui Hachimura, and James Nnaji.

Adding Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, and Chris Paul to the conference finals core of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, Max Christie, Rui Hachimura, and Lonnie Walker gives the Lakers an elite 9-man rotation. That rotation would enable the Lakers to have an elite rim protector on the court for 48 minutes of every game. They would be able to go jumbo-big with Turner and Davis or small-ball-on-steroids with Davis and James.

From a long-term perspective, adding two major pieces who are 27 and 30-years old and share the same championship window as Anthony Davis just continues the Lakers’ savvy efforts to become younger and more athletic.
The Lakers are betting on two more years of LeBron James as a superstar and are smartly preparing themselves to be ready to use the $50 million in cap space that will open up when James retires for another superstar.

Adding Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, and Chris Paul and two draft picks to the core six players from the Lakers’ conference finals team should give the Lakers the size, shooting, and defense to win their 18th NBA championship.

Lakers Salary Cap After the Trade

While they’ll need to set limits to what they’ll pay free agents like Reaves, Hachimura, Walker, the Lakers’ total salaries will be under the $169 million hard cap without actually triggering any of the actions to force a hard cap.

Since the Lakers have not used their NT MLE or BAE or received a player via a sign-and-trade, they are not required to stay under the hard cap. They could easily decide to make moves, add payroll, and become a taxpayer. They could also hard cap themselves at $169 million by receiving a player via a sign-and-trade or deciding to use the $12.2 million NT MLE (Non-Taxpayer Mid Level Exception) or $4.4 million BAE (Bi-Annual Exception).

Pelinka and the Lakers front office have done a great job putting together an impressive portfolio of valuable players on tradable contracts that give them extensive ability to pounce on any opportunities that might come up. Rob should have won Executive of the Year for the masterful job he did making over the Lakers roster at the trade deadline. If he can pull off this Turner and Hield trade, he’ll finally be rewarded with next year’s award.

The bottom line is the Lakers would be in a very advantageous salary cap situation after trading for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. The team would be championship favorites with a talented roster full of tradable assets.

Myles Turner Plus Last Season Roster Would Transform Lakers Into Champs

By 21 Comments

If the Lakers want to seriously compete for a championship, they need to trade Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba, and 2029 first round pick to the Pacers for Myles Turner and bring back their core rotation from last season’s roster.

That would give the Lakers a proven 12-man roster with 9 rotation players from last season’s ‘post-trade deadline’ roster, including James, Davis, Reaves, Russell, Vanderbilt, Christie, Walker, Hachimura, and Schroder. Besides trading for 6′ 11″ center Myles Turner, the Lakers would use their #17 pick in the first round for 6’11” Duke center Dereck Lively II and their #47 pick in the second round for 6′ 7″ Kentucky forward Chris Livingston.

The Lakers’ goal this offseason is not only to build a championship team but also to be in position two years from now to be the premier landing spot to attract an NBA superstar to replace LeBron James when he’s likely to retire. The Lakers want to do a better job making the transition from the LeBron James era than they did moving on from the Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant eras, which were followed by years of bad rosters and losing seasons.

Pelinka has already said the Lakers were going to try to bring back the core of the team that surprised everybody by being the fourth best in the league after the trade deadline and making it all the way to the conference finals. The challenge will be to accomplish that without crossing the threshold of the league’s new draconian second luxury tax, which starts when a team’s payroll exceeds $186.5 million, which will become the NBA’s real hard cap.

Let’s look at what the Lakers would have to give up to trade for Turner, what they’re likely to do in the draft, how they’re going to bring back their core, and what their starting lineup and rotation would look like after the trade.

1. Lakers Trade With Pacers For Myles Turner

The Lakers have long coveted Indiana center Myles Turner and came close to trading for him before the start of last season before backing out at the last minute. The timing for pursuing Turner now appears to be perfect.

The Lakers need to get bigger, younger, and better defensively and easiest way to accomplish that is to trade for the Pacers’ 27-year old 6′ 11″ center Myles Turner and move LeBron James and Anthony Davis down a position. Turner is the crown Rob Pelinka needs to add to the masterful makeover of the Lakers’ roster he pulled off last trade deadline. He and a pair of stud rookies in Lively and Livingston are the final pieces to the Lakers’ puzzle.

When the Lakers and the Pacers discussed trading Turner last summer, Indiana wanted one first round pick for taking on Westbrook’s contract and one for Myles Turner with protection on the two picks a big sticking point. The trade was always about Turner for draft capital with any Lakers players simply being salary filler. Realistically, the Lakers are going to have to make their 2029 first round pick unprotected for the Pacers to make trade.

Trading for a starting center like Myles Turner would allow Anthony Davis and LeBron James to move down a position, have positional size advantage, and reduce physicality and avoid injury by playing against smaller players. With Turner replacing Vanderbilt, the Lakers starting lineup is suddenly dramatically better at both ends of the court. Turner adds both horizontal and vertical spacing on offense and is one of the league’s top shot blockers.

Finally, trading Beasley and Bamba for Turner will save the Lakers $5.8 million in annual salaries, which not only allows the Lakers to bring back almost everybody from last year but also to avoid the NBA’s new luxury tax.

2. Lakers Turn to Klutch Sports for 2023 Draft

The silver lining of this season is the Lakers ending up with the #17 and #47 picks in what should be an excellent draft class. Look for the Lakers to lean heavily on their long alliance with Klutch Sports when making their picks.

The Lakers’ biggest two roster priorities are finding an athletic center who can play defense and protect the rim and a legitimate bigger 3&D wing who can guard the bigger wing scorers who dominate the Western Conference. Fortunately for the Lakers, Rich Paul and Klutch Sports have two clients in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft in 6′ 11″ Duke center Dereck Lively II and 6′ 7″ 3&D wing Chris Livingston who would be excellent fits on their roster.

Lively has been projected to be drafted by the Lakers at #17 in several mock drafts while Livingston worked out for Los Angeles right after Klutch Sports Pro Day last week. Both are elite athletes who provide depth and upside. The Lakers as a team want to get younger, bigger, and better defensively. They got a great start when Pelinka remade the roster at the trade deadline and now Rob has an opportunity to finish the job with a killer NBA draft.

The Lakers’ scouting department has shown great ability to find talent late in the first round, second round, or undrafted. If they can land Dereck Lively II and Chris Livingston, they would deserve a draft grade of A+.

3. Lakers Bring Back Core of Last Year’s Team

The Los Angeles Lakers currently have 4 players still under contract in James, Davis, Vanderbilt, and Christie and 5 players whom they would like to bring back in Reaves, Hachimura, Russell, Schroder, and Walker.

The above salary cap projection show the Lakers re-signing restricted free agents Reaves and Hachimura to long-term contracts and unrestricted free agents Russell, Walker, and Schroder using Bird, Early Bird, and TPMLE.
Re-signing those 5 players would then mean the Lakers were returning 9 of 15 players from the roster that made it to the conference finals last year, which would give them better continuity heading into next season.

By saving $5.8 million in annual salary in the Myles Turner trade, the Lakers were able to keep their total salaries under the NBA’s $186.5 million second luxury tax threshold and avoid its multiple draconian competitive penalties. There’s no question the NBA’s new second luxury tax is essentially going to establish $186.5 million as the league’s ‘de facto’ hard cap because the penalties for exceeding the threshold greatly impact competitiveness.

By adding Turner and two draft picks to their core rotation from last year, the Lakers are projected to spend $185 million in salaries and pay $47 million in luxury taxes for a total annual payroll expense of $232 million. With three open roster spots for veteran players as insurance or younger players with upside, the Lakers have an opportunity to start next season with the best and deepest roster they’ve had in the LeBron and AD era.

This summer is the second phase of Rob Pelinka’s master class in extreme roster makeover. This summer’s trade for Turner and great draft should finally win Rob Pelinka his overdue trophy as NBA Executive of the Year.

4. Lakers Projected Championship Rotation

Almost every player on the Lakers expressed a desire to see what this team could have done if they had had a training camp and full season to play together, get to know each other, and build some chemistry and rapport.

Imagine bringing back the 9 best players from last season and adding Myles Turner and 2 promising draft picks to that roster. That might be the best 12-player roster in the NBA before you even add two or three more players. The Lakers’ starting lineup of Russell, Reaves, James, Davis, and Turner would be the biggest and baddest defensive team in the league and a bench of Schroder, Walker, Vanderbilt, Hachimura, and Lively would dominate.

This roster would also allow Lakers head coach Darvin Ham to play a deep and diverse 10-man rotation that could dramatically reduce their reliance on and workloads of overworked superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Lakers know the smartest way to keep their two superstars healthy is to reduce their minutes and workloads and surround them with players who will make their jobs easier and the team far more dangerous.

Ultimately, the Lakers’ roster goal to become younger, bigger, and better defensively will not only pay off by winning more NBA championships but also by making the Lakers the ideal landing spot for LeBron’s replacement. Successfully navigating the transition from LeBron James is right now a bigger challenge for the Lakers than winning next season. As always, the Lakers are trying to have their cake and eat it too. They just might do it.

Rob Pelinka has a great opportunity this summer to transform the Lakers into a championship team by bringing back the core rotation from last season, adding center Myles Turner, and drafting two Klutch Sports clients.

Blockbuster Trade Transforms Lakers From Lottery to NBA Championship!

By 6 Comments

While the Lakers lost to the Suns last night, the fourth straight dominating performance by center Anthony Davis, this time against a much tougher opponent in Deandre Ayton, was more important than winning the game.

The resurgent Lakers gave the more talented Suns everything they could handle, almost overcoming a 36-point disadvantage in 3-point shooting by making 26 more free throws and scoring 10 more points-in-the-paint. 
While the Lakers’ poor 3-point shooting doomed them to lose this game, the continued dominance by AD is looking more and more like the real thing. Last night’s performance was Davis’ best in the last four games.

Rob Pelinka has promised the Lakers would trade both first round draft picks if the team proved worthy of that investment and if the trade would actually transform the team into a legitimate championship contender. 
The Lakers should win the next 4 games and finish November 9–11, winning 7 of their last 8 games with AD as the featured superstar and proving to management the team was worthy of trading the two picks.

Here’s a three-team, three-player mega trade between the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, and Indiana Pacers that will transform the L.A. from a likely lottery team to a legitimate NBA championship contender:

The Three-Team, Three-Player Trade

The Lakers trade Russell Westbrook and an unprotected 2027 pick to the Nets for Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry plus Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn, and an unprotected 2029 first round pick to the Pacers for Myles Turner.

The trade is salary neutral for all three teams, meaning no increase in current season payroll or luxury taxes. None of the involved players qualify as recently traded or signed so there is no need to wait before trading. 
Another benefit for all the teams is the six players involved are on expiring contracts so the trade would thus be ‘cap space neutral’ and ‘salary neutral.’ Teams would have the same amount of cap space after as before the trade.

The big question is whether these three teams really want to trade. The Lakers talk about sacrificing this season to keep their picks for a mega trade this summer. Who knows what the Nets and Pacers are going to do. 
For them, the trade is not about the players coming back. Whether this trade happens or not comes down to the value Brooklyn and Indiana assign Los Angeles’ post-LeBron James unprotected first round draft picks.

This trade solves each of the team’s major personnel issues without hurting their current salary, luxury tax, or cap space situations. Lakers move Russ. Nets dump Kyrie, Pacers avoid losing Turner to free agency for nothing.

Why the Los Angeles Lakers Make the Trade

The Lakers make the trade because it transforms them from a lottery team to legitimate championship contender. Adding Irving and Turner to James, Davis, and Walker could give the Lakers’ the league’s best starting lineup.

Swapping Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, and Kendrick Nunn for Kyrie Irving, Seth Curry, and Myles Turner gives the Lakers three players who can shoot the three and a stretch five center who can protect the rim.
In addition to solid bench contributors like Dennis Schröder, Seth Curry, and Austin Reaves, the Lakers should have dramatically improved depth along with the improved versatility to play jumbo big or super small.

Besides upgrading the starting lineup and depth, the trade essentially swaps one package of expiring contracts for a different package, meaning the Lakers will still have $35 million in open cap space this summer. 
That will give them the option of using Bird rights or some or all of their $35 million in open cap space to re-sign or extend Irving, Curry, Turner, and/or Walker or use some or all of the cap space to sign free agents.

This is the perfect trade for the Lakers as it not only gives them a chance to win their 18th NBA championship this season but also gives them three elite players who could easily be valuable teammates going forward.

Why the Nets and Pacers Make the Trade

The Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers are interested in trading with the Los Angeles Lakers for one simple reason. They both want the opportunity to trade for the Lakers 2027 and/or 2029 unprotected first round draft picks.

The reason these picks are projected to be so valuable is the fact that they’re unprotected and are for seasons when superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis will both likely have retired and no longer with the team. 
Opposing teams remember the Lakers picking 7th, 2nd, and 2nd in the NBA Draft in the years immediately following Kobe Bryant’s retirement. That’s why there’s so many teams looking to acquire those Lakers picks.

Like the Lakers, the Nets and the Pacers will also appreciate that the trade does not affect the team’s current salary, luxury taxes, or open cap space. What it does do, however, is accomplish major goals for both teams.
For the Nets, the main goal is to get rid of Kyrie Irving so they can move on. For the Pacers, it’s getting maximum return for center Myles Turner so they don’t have to risk losing him for nothing in free agency this summer.

The Nets want to dump Irving and the Lakers are their only possible trading partner. The Pacers want to move Turner before they lose him for nothing in free agency. What they both want are the Lakers’ picks.

Lakers Cannot Allow Weight of Russell Westbrook Decision to Paralyze Them

By 2 Comments

After a slow start with James and Davis struggling, the factor in the Lakers’ front office who were against trading the team’s two picks before camp now are questioning whether LeBron and AD are still worth giving up the picks.

The argument that’s apparently made the Lakers’ front office even less willing to trade their two available picks is James and Davis appear to be on the decline so far this season and may not be worth giving up the picks. That the Lakers’ front office would be thinking this after just 9 games with James sick and injured and Davis playing great defensively just shows how the heavy weight of the Russell Westbrook decision has paralyzed them.

This continued split between decision makers in the Lakers’ front office is concerning as it creates an environment where the team could easily make a disastrous decision that damages the franchise’s future competitiveness. Nobody knows who’s in favor of trading and whose not but what’s obvious is Lakers’ VP of Basketball Operations and General Manger Rob Pelinka has all but relinquished or lost the right to make the Westbrook trade decision. 

Pelinka did that right before the start of camp when he decided at the very last minute not to trade Russell Westbrook and the 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks to the Indiana Pacers for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. Claiming that the decision was so monumental to the franchise’s future that everybody involved had to be willing to sign off on the trade was a foolish blunder that’s paralyzed the Lakers’ Westbrook trade efforts. 

Pelinka’s decision to change the process from him simply making the decision as he is paid to do to the entire front office group having to reach unanimity will make it much more difficult for the Lakers to trade Russ. We’ve already seen that the Lakers’ front office group, which includes Rob Pelinka, Jeanie Buss, Kurt and Linda Rambis, and Joey and Jesse Buss, could not come to a unanimous decision to trade for Turner and Hield.

The 2–8 Los Angeles Lakers are rapidly reaching the critical point where the hole in the standings they have dug with the current roster will become so deep there’s no trade that can produce enough wins to dig their way out. Right now, short of a straight trade of Anthony Davis for Kevin Durant, the Lakers may have a difficult time finding a trade that will satisfy everybody in their front office. Right now, they aren’t even talking to any teams.

Bottom line, it’s time for Jeanie to take charge and either tell Rob the decision is his or take it away from him and make it herself. There’s no way the Lakers can intelligently move forward with decision by committee.