Why an Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Lakers trade is going to happen
By Joe Lyon
San Antonio
The Spurs have a more clear direction than the Pacers at the moment, looking like a shell of an actual basketball team. As such, moving towards better draft odds seems to be an all-but-garuanteed path for them to take at this point. So what could they offer the Lakers in return for Westbrook and two first rounders? NBA Analysis Network has the Spurs deal something like the following:
Spurs Potential Offer: Jakob Poeltl, Doug McDermott, Josh Richardson
Pacers Potential Offer: Myles Turner, Buddy Hield
When looking at these side by side, they don’t seem that different initially. Jakob Poeltl is a respectable big, but doesn’t have the range or blocking capabilities of Myles Turner. Turner may be able to better play along Anthony Davis and create space, while Poeltl may not offer the same flexibility.
And Doug McDermott certainly offers some three point shooting, but so does Buddy Hield. So the question would come down to how highly the Lakers would value Josh Richardson.
It is likely that Myles and Buddy are enough better than Poeltl and McDermott to make the Pacers deal more worthwhile than the Spurs deal. The problem will be that the Spurs are likely more motivated to trade away players given their current talent level.
Our decision: Indiana Pacers deal is a no-brainer in comparison.