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:
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