Myles Turner – Indiana Pacers
With Anthony Davis in their frontcourt, the Lakers may not look to target another defensive-minded big man, but they absolutely should! Los Angeles ranks 12th in the league in defensive rating, but they are allowing 112.3 points per game to their opponents (4th most in the NBA) and allowing 48.6 points in the paint per game (3rd most in the NBA).
Myles Turner would be a huge addition for the Lakers frontcourt and pairing him with Davis would be virtually impossible to score against.
Anthony Davis has always been known to be one of the best all-around defenders in the NBA and on the season, he is currently averaging 2.2 blocks per game.
In Indiana this season, Myles Turner is averaging 2.8 blocks per game, which leads the league, and he has led the league in blocked shots two of the last three seasons. Next to AD, Turner could continue being a beast defensively and these two alone would rank ahead of 16 different teams in terms of blocks per game!
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Turner is arguably the best shot-blocker in the NBA right now and his impact could go beyond the defensive end of the floor. Myles Turner is not an elite-level offensive threat, but he has averaged 12.7 points per game over the course of his career and has shot 35.5% from three-point range.
Having the ability to step out on the perimeter and knock down shots in Los Angeles would open up the floor a lot more for guys like LeBron James and Russell Westbrook to get to the rim, which could finally make this Lakers’ offense click.
The Pacers are expected to go through some sort of a rebuild and whether that means trading one guy like Myles Turner or a handful of guys, they are going to be looking for ways to get younger and add more future value.
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Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn could fill two immediate needs for the Pacers and if they were to get some second-round draft picks as well from the Lakers, this could be enough for them to trade Myles Turner.
Maybe it would take a third team to get involved for the Lakers to get the Pacers a little bit more value, but they are open to trading Turner right now, which is why Los Angeles should show interest.
