In recent days the Los Angeles Lakers made a move that somewhat shocked the NBA community. They sent Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Patrick Beverley. Before we unpack the addition of Beverley, let’s talk a bit about what they gave up. Talen Horton-Tucker is someone the Lakers have held in high regard since his debut in the 2019-20 season. They had refused to include him in deals for a player like Kyle Lowry in 2021 and now have included him in a deal for Patrick Beverley just one year later.
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They also included Stanley Johnson in the deal, who was far and away the Lakers’ best perimeter defender in 2021-22. They bring in Patrick Beverley, who brings some heart and grit to a lineup that lacked a lot of it while going 33-49 last season. Beverley is not everyone’s cup of tea, but he is still that guy that anyone should love to have on their team. With the addition of Beverley comes questions about Russell Westbrook and his status as a member of the Lakers for the 2022-23 campaign.
It is well known that Beverley and Westbrook have past issues adding to the fact that Westbrook already has one foot out the door amid criticism of his performance last year. With the addition of Beverley, it is time for the Lakers to pull the trigger on a Westbrook deal and round out their roster in a way that can catapult them right back into playoff and championship contention.
Lakers-Pacers Deal Makes L.A. Contenders Once Again
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Buddy Hield, Myles Turner
Indiana Pacers Receive: Russell Westbrook, 2027 First-Round Pick (LAL), 2029 First-Round Pick (LAL)
The trade that you see above has been reported to be in the works for a few weeks now. Apparently, it has all hinged on if the Lakers were willing to include not one but two of their first-round draft picks along with Russell Westbrook. It was reported this week that they were willing to. They are even more inclined to include those picks after the addition of Patrick Beverley. If the Lakers could pull this off and Indiana accepts, this will make them immediate title contenders for the first time since 2020.
The first thing this trade would add to the Lakers is more three-point shooting. With the addition of Beverley, the Lakers have added a decent shooter as he shoots 37.8% from three for his career. Buddy Hield is a career 39.8% three-point shooter who has hit at least 200 or more three-point field goals for the past 4 seasons in a row. This gives the Lakers an option they can legitimately trust on the perimeter, which is something they severely lacked in 2022. A lot of the time, we saw LeBron James in attack mode last season without any legitimate option on the perimeter for when they would collapse on him. The spacing and efficiency would automatically improve drastically with the addition of Buddy Hield in any trade to the Lakers.
With the addition of Myles Turner, the Lakers would boast some of the best interior defense in the entire league. After a season that saw him miss 40 games in 2021-22, Turner will look to bounce back and make a major impact wherever he ends up. Turner has established himself as one of the premier shot blockers in the NBA over the past 4 seasons. He has averaged 2.5 BPG or more in each season since 2019 and led the league in BPG in 2019 and 2021. Since 2019, Turner has averaged 12.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 2.7 BPG. He has shot 48.1% from the field, and if inserted into the Lakers lineup, he could see his fair share of shot attempts with LeBron James running the offense. Alongside a healthy Anthony Davis, Turner would help to form one of the more intimidating duos in the Western Conference.
The New-Look Lakers
Starting Lineup: Patrick Beverley, Buddy Hield, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Myles Turner
Bench: Kendrick Nunn, Austin Reaves, Lonnie Walker IV, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Thomas Bryant, Troy Brown Jr.
If the Lakers and Pacers come to an agreement before the start of the 2022-23 season, the Los Angeles roster will have a much different look than in 2021-22. Of course, all things will run through the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis on offense. James is coming off of a season in which he averaged 30.3 PPG in 56 games while Davis averaged 23.3 PPG in 40 games. The production is there, and we already know they can be successful together. The only question is can one of them or both stay on the floor for more than 60 games?
Beyond James and Davis, there is improvement across the board to fill out the starters, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. On the perimeter, you add an all-time pest in Beverly who, at the very least, is going to throw opponents off their game and get in their heads. He injects energy into the starting unit that was lacking in that area for most of 2022. On the interior, you add one of the better defenders in that area in Myles Turner. You already have Anthony Davis, who is an outstanding defensive presence when healthy. Never mind the blocked shots that will come from this formidable interior duo, it will be the mere altering of shots from driving guards that proves to be most valuable. Last season, there seemed to be little to no effort from interior defenders, and that all changes with a healthy Davis and incoming Turner.
As far as the bench goes, there are still moves that can be made for the Lakers. They could possibly add the likes of Collin Sexton to bring in some more scoring. They could also go after a familiar face in Dennis Schroder, who spent 2021 with the team. For now, the Lakers have some promising talent coming in off the bench for them in 2022-23. Austin Reaves is looking to have a much bigger role this season off of the bench for Los Angeles after showing serious promise in his rookie season. The additions of Lonnie Walker IV and Juan Toscano-Anderson bring in some athleticism and youth the team was missing a year ago as well. A big man like Thomas Bryant also brings in more youth as opposed to Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan’s presence last season. Troy Brown Jr. is another athletic wing that we could see have some critical production should he be given the opportunity also.
Can These Lakers Compete For The Title?
With this potential new roster, the Los Angeles Lakers should be staring down 50 to 55 wins right in the face. They would be much improved in too many areas to not compete for a Top 5 seed in the Western Conference. The only weakness that stands out is the lack of playmaking outside of LeBron James. That is something that the Lakers are hoping a guy like Austin Reaves or Kendrick Nunn can provide off of the bench for them. The starters will be looking to turn the interior defense of Davis and Turner into more transition/fast break opportunities leading to much easier points on the board.
One roadblock in the Lakers’ quest to return to glory is the depth and talent of the rest of the Western Conference. The defending champion Golden State Warriors have kept their core together while adding some great complimentary pieces. They should also be adding James Wiseman back into the mix, and Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody should have bigger roles as well. The Los Angeles Clippers are getting Kawhi Leonard back while adding John Wall to the team and looking for Paul George to bounce back healthy. The Lakers have struggled against the Clippers recently, so we already know they will be a tough opponent. A team like the Nuggets is getting healthier and better as well, with Jamal Murray returning and making some nice additions in free agency. Then you have the Mavericks, Timberwolves, and Pelicans, who will all be very competitive this year as well.
All in all, if the Lakers can pull off the deal to rid of Westbrook and add Hield and Turner, they should be considered among the teams to finish atop their conference at the minimum. We should know by now that LeBron James is tired of letting the Lakers faithful down after winning them a championship in 2020. New head coach Darvin Ham should be a breath of fresh air for the franchise as well. He seems to be already connecting with his players on a level that Frank Vogel never could, even after leading them to a championship in 2020. If the Lakers can pull this move off and gel as one cohesive unit, then don’t leave it outside the realm of possibility that the Lakers will hoist their 18th Larry O’Brien trophy over their heads at the end of 2022-23.
