Talks between the Lakers and Pacers about a trade that would include Russell Westbrook, Buddy Hield, Myles Turner, and other assets are currently dead, a source tells Bob Kravitz of The Athletic (Twitter link). Kravitz adds that those discussions could reignite if the Lakers add another first-round pick to their offer, but he says they are currently at a standstill.
Kravitz’s wording suggests L.A. is only willing to attach one of its two tradable first-rounders (2027 and 2029) to Westbrook in exchange for Hield and Turner, so it is not surprising that the Pacers are not interested.
As we noted earlier this week, if the Lakers want to try to acquire just one of Hield or Turner, there are ways to construct a deal using Talen Horton-Tucker ($10.26M) and Kendrick Nunn ($5.25M) instead of Westbrook’s $47M expiring deal for outgoing salary purposes. But acquiring both Pacers veterans would mean including Westbrook and would require a substantial package of draft assets.
Here are a few more trade rumors and notes from around the NBA:
- Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who suggested last week that Jarred Vanderbilt is drawing trade interest, said on the latest episode of his podcast that “a lot of teams” have called the Jazz about the 23-year-old forward. “I don’t know the number. I don’t really have any specific teams that I’ve heard of,” Fischer said, per HoopsHype. “But last I (heard), he was the guy who’s getting the most calls, the most incoming calls of all the (Jazz) players.”
- Given that no team is willing to meet the Nets‘ sky-high asking price for Kevin Durant, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on NBA Today on Thursday (video link) that he is waiting for one of two things to happen: Brooklyn to lower that asking price, or Durant to be pulled off the trade market. There has been no indication that either one of those moves is imminent, Windhorst adds.
- As the Knicks pursue a possible Donovan Mitchell deal, it is important that they consider what pieces would be left over, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. Besides not wanting to sacrifice too many players who could play alongside Mitchell, the Knicks will also want to retain enough assets to potentially be able to trade for another star within a couple years, since Mitchell alone would not make them a title contender, Katz says.
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