The largest commerce rumor of the NBA season up to now has been a proposed deal that may ship Myles Turner and Buddy Hield to the Los Angeles Lakers and Russell Westbrook to the Indiana Pacers. The commerce was supposedly on the ‘one-yard line’ over the offseason, however the two sides couldn’t attain an settlement with Indiana asking for the Lakers’ first spherical picks in each 2027 and 2029.
As the Lakers began the season 0-5 earlier than lastly getting their first win Sunday night time in opposition to the Denver Nuggets, hypothesis over a possible commerce for Turner and Hield has grown much more intense. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski had Turner on his podcast on Monday and straight up requested him if the Lakers ought to commerce two first spherical picks to amass himself and Hield.
“If I’m the Lakers, I take a very hard look at this with the position that you’re in,” Turner stated. “I know what I can provide for a team.” Listen to Turner’s reply beneath, and try the total episode of The Woj Pod right here.
Here’s what Turner stated about probably going to the Lakers:
“Yes, [it’s appealing]. Just playing in the bigger market, I just feel like here in the Midwest we don’t get the love that I think we deserve. It doesn’t get taken on the national level. You are under the microscope out there at the West, when you are doing bad you going to hear about it. When you are doing great you are going to get a lot of love, especially with the love that Lakers get. I think that another aspect that is playing with greatness and playing under LeBron, I feel like he demands certain level of excellency especially at this point of his career. It’s just one of those things, when you are out there, you gotta perform. People are going expect you to go out there and hold on to that legacy that Lakers have built over the years.”
Can you ever bear in mind a participant beneath contract with one crew occurring a large nationwide podcast and getting the case for why he must be traded to a different crew? I can’t, and neither can most followers. Only Woj can get this degree of entry out of gamers.
Turner talked about how curiosity from the Lakers’ fanbase has adopted him and Hield all through the beginning of this season. He recalled himself and Hield watching tweets from Lakers followers are available in as they sat subsequent to one another on the bus whereas the Lakers had been dropping midway throughout the nation. Turner additionally talked about making an attempt to remain wholesome this season — he began the yr with an ankle damage — and what it’s like going into the ultimate yr of his contract with Indiana.
In his most up-to-date sport in opposition to the Wizards, Turner completed with 27 factors, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks, and shot 3-of-4 from three-point vary. That’s the kind of efficiency that’s making the Lakers suppose lengthy and exhausting about buying and selling two first rounders for him for Hield. The actual negotiation will seemingly happen over what sort of protections these picks have.
This has already been a weird season for the Lakers, and we’re not even out of the primary month but. We can’t wait to see the place it goes from right here.