The trade link between the Indiana Pacers and the Los Angeles Lakers has seemingly been cut off following news of the latter trying to show general restraint in handling their minuscule assets, but fans of the Purple and Gold surely do not mirror the same sentiment.
In fact, a lot of LA fans immediately suspected a looming Pacers trade following one fan’s scoop on Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka’s flight to Indianapolis. And of course, with full and blatant disregard to utter coincidence, fans found a way to magically connect it to Buddy Hield‘s one-emoji tweet under the bill of, well, “cryptic message.”
Lakers GM Rob Pelinka was reportedly seen boarding a flight to Indianapolis. Buddy Hield seems to have received some exciting news.
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 16, 2022
Something brewing for LA? 🤔
(h/t @SportEnthus562) pic.twitter.com/BIYRpla2Ks
Will the Indiana Pacers make a trade or are Lakers fans simply reading between the lines too much?
Setting aside the Lakers fans’ nature of being too reactive, forecasting a potential trade between them and the Pacers is not something that came out of nowhere, after all, both franchises were usual customers in the rumor mill way back in the offseason.
However, LA’s brass itself has been reportedly insistent on simply playing out this season as currently constructed to preserve their future, which currently solely revolves around their first-round picks in 2027 and 2029. Any trade involving the Lakers at this point is expected to only be for marginal roster improvements.
The Pacers will surely pull the trigger upon the inclusion of an unprotected first-rounder or two (depending on the deal additives, e.g. Myles Turner), but given how Buddy Hield has played so far this season, the front office will definitely not be in a rush to trade their veteran sharpshooter. Aside from the fact that the team can try to bide and wait for better bids, Hield can also just be retained, as his skill set and much-expanded game have been nice complementary pieces to Indiana’s core.
Ultimately, Indiana Pacers fans should remain pretty confident that the franchise will never yield to any of the Lakers’ likely discount pleas. After all, given how well the team has looked so far, this rebuild may not take much longer.