Indiana Pacers: Debunking absurd Myles Turner to Lakers fake news

The NBA community has recently seen an uptick in the swirling rumor mill following news of the Indiana Pacers becoming more open to trade their core players. That, however, has opened up an opportunity for some absurd takes to sprout from nowhere.

One madness we have seen floating around in social media lately is the alleged traction on the Myles Turner to Los Angeles Lakers imaginary front. It’s not the first time we encountered such delusional take from an ever-hungry and asset-filled big market, but it’s time we put an end to this nonsense.

The Indiana Pacers have no reason to engage with the Los Angeles Lakers regarding Myles Turner

Fortunately, it’s not rocket science to see why this is far from the truth. Even one writer covering the Lakers quickly shot down those claims.

However, if we’re splitting hairs, there are big hurdles that augment why the Lakers have essentially zero chance of acquiring Turner from the Pacers.

Not only does Los Angeles lack the salary that can outright match Turner’s, but their adjacent assets money-wise are far from needle movers on Indiana’s side. Talen Horton-Tucker, despite showing flashes, is a role player. Mixing him with Kent Bazemore, Kendrick Nunn, and Wayne Ellington to make a more tenable offer is a stale proposition.

Also, the Lakers do not own their first-round picks in the next three years. Unlike other teams that can entice the verging-on-rebuilding Pacers with big incentives based on handsome draft compensation, LA has nothing to offer in that sense. Toying with the idea of stacking second-round picks to inch closer to viability is an idea that should remain in dystopian trade machines.

Unless Los Angeles suddenly warms up to the idea of trading one of their big names for the sake of balancing out their top-heavy roster, which is extremely unlikely in their first season together, Indiana will simply ignore anything that the Lakers can conjure.

One fan put it more brilliantly:

The Lakers (or their fans) may be getting tired of their underwhelming season so far, but sorry, even the equally disappointing Indiana Pacers are not foolish enough to dangle one of their most prized assets for golden nothing.