One NBA writer is proposing that the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers make a trade featuring D’Angelo Russell and Buddy Hield. Lee Tran of Fadeaway World proposed the following trade idea between the Lakers and Pacers:
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Buddy Hield
Indiana Pacers Receive: D’Angelo Russell
Hield is one of the best shooters of all time. He was second in the NBA last 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: D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers, Buddy Hield, Indiana Pacers Updates
Hield has career NBA 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 last season for the Pacers in 80 games.
The Lakers and Pacers discussed a Russell Westbrook-Myles Turner-Hield trade multiple times last summer and at the start of last season. NBA insiders 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 2022 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.
The Lakers need more shooters around superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, so Pelinka would be smart to find a way to acquire Hield.
Los Angeles acquired Russell from the Minnesota Timberwolves at the 2023 February trade deadline. The Ohio State product played well in his 17 games with the Lakers averaging 17.4 points and 6.1 assists while shooting 41.4% from 3.
Russell put up strong numbers in the first two rounds of the 2023 playoffs versus the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors. He averaged 15.7 points and 5.0 assists and scored an impressive 31 points in Game 6 against the Grizzlies.
However, Russell was so poor against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals that many people around the NBA thought the Lakers shouldn’t have re-signed him. The lefty averaged 6.3 points and 3.5 assists while shooting 32.3% from the floor and 13.3% from beyond the arc as the Nuggets swept the Lakers.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers, Buddy Hield, Indiana Pacers Updates
Despite Russell’s struggles versus the Nuggets, though, the Lakers brought him back this summer in free agency. Russell’s new two-year contract with the Lakers is guaranteed for $36 million. The one-time NBA All-Star has $700,000 in incentives in each season of the deal. In addition, Russell waived his implied no-trade clause, so he can be traded anywhere.
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