Lakers News: Pacers Had Interest In Deal For Talen Horton-Tucker, Russell Westbrook
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Talks of a deal that would send Indiana Pacers veterans Myles Turner and Buddy Hield to your Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Russell Westbrook still seem to be percolating. But apparently a more expansive trade with the Eastern Conference club that would have also included underwhelming, overpaid 21-year-old wing Talen Horton-Tucker had been considered earlier in the offseason.
Indiana had been interested in the swingman before L.A. ultimately shipped Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson out in another deal to the Utah Jazz. According to Michael Scotto in a new edition of his HoopsHype Podcast, the framework of the deal would have seen the Lakers ship out THT, Westbrook, and both their much-coveted 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks, in exchange for Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, and the multi-year contract of veteran center Daniel Theis. Theis has two guaranteed years left on his deal, worth a combined $17.8 million, plus a $9.5 million team option for the 2024-25 season.
Apparently the Lakers, already wary to surrender both their future firsts in a deal for a non-All-Star, were uninterested in adding Theis. Given their current center personnel beyond however many minutes Anthony Davis plays the position, that makes sense. Davis aside, some combination of Thomas Bryant and Damian Jones should take up the lion's share of center minutes this season.
Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who joined Scotto on the podcast, chimed in, noting that, even after the Beverley trade, the Pacers and the Utah Jazz appear to be the two most possible landing spots for Westbrook's $47.1 million expiring contract.
In a vacuum, L.A. did the right thing in flipping Horton-Tucker (and Johnson) for what will essentially be a Russell Westbrook replacement, still on an expiring deal. But there's work to be done yet -- Westbrook still needs to go.
