NBA Trades: 3 Kyrie Irving alternatives for the Los Angeles Lakers

NBA Trades: The Los Angeles Lakers swap Russell Westbrook for two starters.

Aside from the rumors surrounding the Brooklyn Nets, the Indiana Pacers were the team most linked to the Lakers in trade talks. A trade centered around Westbrook for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield was reportedly discussed but the Lakers pulled out after Indiana asked for two first-rounders.

Hield is a very good shooter and an above-average scorer, but he is a bad defender and is also overpaid. Turner is definitely the more interesting player since he can knock down threes and is a terrific shot blocker. Those skills would allow him to play center beside Davis and protect the rim without hurting the Lakers’ spacing on offense. Swapping out a poor-fitting player in Westbrook for two better-fitting ones in Hield and Turner does make sense, but two first is still a steep price for the Lakers.

If Indy came down off their asking price and settled for one future first, then that would change things, but there is another possible trade partner, and maybe the Lakers could leverage that into Indiana taking less to absorb Westbrook’s contract. If they don’t, however, then the Lakers might have to bite the bullet.