Los Angeles Lakers Receive: C Myles Turner, IND 2023 2nd Round Pick

Indiana Pacers Receive: F Kyle Kuzma, C Marc Gasol, G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Myles Turner has been a great defensive player in the NBA, leading the league in blocks per game during the 2018-19 season, but has not been utilized on offense as of late. His scoring numbers were down last year and his offensive efficiency has been declining. Not only can Turner be utilized in the low-post, but is a terrific three-point shooter as a center, as he has averaged 35.7% from deep over the course of his career.

With Anthony Davis arguably being the best defensive player in the league, adding what is one of the best shot-blockers in the league makes this Lakers’ frontcourt not only the best in the league, but possibly one of the best defensive frontcourts in NBA history. 

It would be virtually impossible to score in the paint over both of these guys when they are on the court and while the Lakers have been known to be a great offensive team, they could quickly turn into being the best defensive team in the league. 

Getting a guy like Myles Turner though would cost them some key role players, which could impact them greatly on the offensive end of the court. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma and Marc Gasol would all have to be traded to Indiana to make the financials of this trade work, especially if Los Angeles was to keep LeBron, AD, Schroder and Harrell on the roster. 

KCP and Gasol cannot be traded until near the end of February due to signing a contract in the offseason, making this trade likely to occur near the trade deadline if it was even going to happen. 

Kyle Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope were two big time impact players for the Lakers last season both in the starting rotation and off the bench and this season, are once again key role players for them. Caldwell-Pope is more of a shooting threat from the perimeter, but Kuzma is a guy the Lakers are really high on moving forward and almost view him as their third most valuable player, as they just signed him to a three-year, $40M contract-extension.

The Lakers have not explored any trades involving KCP or Kyle Kuzma, especially since they are the best team in the NBA at the moment, but if the opportunity came their way to potentially land Myles Turner, they could be interested in hearing the whole offer through. Turner is a better overall player than Kuzma and could ultimately give the Lakers a better overall chance to win another championship than both KCP and Kuzma do. 

With that being said, let’s take a closer look as to why this trade makes sense for both the Indiana Pacers and the Los Angeles Lakers.