The Los Angeles Lakers need more trustworthy shooters around NBA superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report has a trade idea to help the purple and gold out.
In a May 18 piece titled “Lakers’ Hypothetical Blockbuster Trades to Shake Up NBA Offseason,” Buckley proposed that the Lakers trade Malik Beasley and a future first-round pick to the Indiana Pacers for Buddy Hield this offseason.
“Hield, who might be too old for the rebuilding Pacers to keep, just had an absurd shooting season, netting a career-high 288 triples at a 42.5 percent clip,” Buckley wrote. “He’d have cheat-code potential playing alongside James and Davis, who could both feed him for spot-up shots and thrive in the open areas that his shooting would create.”
Hield is one of the best shooters of all time. He was second in the NBA this season in 3-point field goals (288) and shot 42.5% from beyond the arc. The 30-year-old Oklahoma product is a career 40.2% shooter from 3-point land, which is good for 39th in NBA history.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Buddy Hield, Indiana Pacers & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Hield has career averages of 16.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists with the New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, and Pacers. He put up 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game this season for the Pacers in 80 games.
However, Indiana missed the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
The Lakers and Pacers discussed a Russell Westbrook-Myles Turner-Hield trade multiple times last summer and at the start of this season. Jovan Buha, Sam Amick, and Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Los Angeles nearly sent Westbrook and unprotected first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 to Indiana for Turner and Hield in October before Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka determined that giving up two future draft picks was too steep of a price to pay for Hield and Turner.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Buddy Hield, Indiana Pacers & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
The Lakers are currently down 2-0 to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. If they don’t come back and win the series, Pelinka may look to change the roster around James and Davis this summer.
Want the latest in NBA analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click Here. Follow NBA Analysis Network on Twitter and Facebook.
Recommended NBA Coverage
