Despite their giant interest in landing Kyrie Irving, the Los Angeles Lakers seem to be doing their due diligence on finding a backup plan.
They have had interest in sharpshooter Buddy Hield and big man Myles Turner, both of whom play for the Indiana Pacers.
With talks involving the Brooklyn Nets regarding Irving seemingly dormant, the Lakers seem to have pivoted, at least for the moment, to working on a possible deal to bring Hield and Turner to L.A.
According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, the Lakers and Pacers have been talking about such a trade, although it doesn’t mean anything will happen between the two teams.
The Lakers and Pacers have indeed exchanged trade proposals on a swap to try to bring Myles Turner and Buddy Hield to L.A., league sources confirm, but no deal is close.
The Lakers' offer, I'm told, did attach unspecified draft compensation to Russell Westbrook's $47M contract.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 22, 2022
Any trade that would give up Russell Westbrook would require L.A. to give up a good amount of draft compensation, something which may give the team pause.
If the Lakers aren’t willing to give up two future first-round draft picks to nab Irving, would they do so for Hield and Turner?
