Indiana Pacers Receive: G Talen Horton-Tucker, G Kendrick Nunn, G Malik Monk
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: F TJ Warren, G/F Justin Holiday
The Los Angeles Lakers have really struggled to begin the season not only because of injuries to key talents, including LeBron James, but because they really do not have much two-way talent, especially on the wing.
Defense has always been what has made the Lakers a championship contender over the years, but this season, they rank just 15th in the league in defensive rating and are giving up about 113.4 points per game, the second-most in the league.
How he looks coming off this foot injury could greatly impact what kind of player he could be, but TJ Warren was one of the rising two-way wings in the league before his injury last season and could ultimately give the Lakers a huge boost on the wing.
He would not only take pressure off of LeBron James to defend, but Warren can also be a factor offensively, as he has averaged 19.5 points per game and has shot 53.5% from the floor since joining the Pacers ahead of the 2019-20 season.
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Being in the final year of his contract, the Los Angeles Lakers would not be tied down to paying another large, long-term contract and best of all, they would get another key rotational player in Justin Holiday, who just so happens to be a solid two-way player himself on the wing.
On the receiving-end of things, the Pacers are heading towards a rebuild, so why not go ahead and add Talen Horton-Tucker (21), Kendrick Nunn (26) and Malik Monk (23), all of which are young talents the Pacers can build with?
Maybe this is not a grand return for Warren, but he is not the kind of player that the Pacers should expect to get several impactful players and draft picks for. Horton-Tucker and Monk have both played well for the Los Angeles Lakers this year and Nunn was a runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award two seasons ago, so he can definitely be an impactful guard behind Malcolm Brogdon.
