Lakerholics

The biggest mistake Rob Pelinka could make would be to fail to get LeBron James the help he needs to win another NBA championship. Right now, the Lakers desperately need better rim protection and volume 3-point shooting.

The problem is almost every one of the Lakers’ competitors are also looking for shot blockers and 3-point shooters, which makes their chances of filling their desperate needs via the buyout market an extremely long shot at best. As defending champs, the Lakers do not want to panic and break up their championship roster or hurt their great team chemistry and culture, which likely eliminates making a major trade for a star or superstar player.

The good news is here are three small trades that could bring back an elite rim protector and three high quality, high volume 3-point shooters without the Lakers having to give up any of their long term core rotation players.

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1. Montrezl Harrell for Nerlens Noel and Reggie Bullock

This is a trade of backup centers by the league’s top two defensive teams with shooting guard Reggie Bullock included to match salaries. All three players are on expiring contracts and will become free agents this summer.

The Lakers make the deal because they get an elite shot blocker in Nerlens Noel who also has the mobility and athleticism to switch and defend smaller players on the perimeter, which is key to their trapping rotating defense. The Lakers also get a high quality, high volume 3-point shooter in Reggie Bullock, who’s averaging 38.1% on 4.5 threes per game, both of which would rank 3rd on the team for 3-point percentage and 3-point attempts.

The Knicks get needed instant offense off the bench in backup center Montrezl Harrell, reining 6th Man of the Year. Trez would give New York’s 23rd ranked offense desperately needed firepower in their playoff run.

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2. Wesley Matthews and 2nd Round Pick for Wayne Ellington

This is a trade of older veteran shooting guards with the Lakers including a second round pick to sweeten the deal for the Pistons. Both players are on expiring contracts and will become unrestricted free agents this summer.

The Lakers make the deal because they’re in a win-now mode and need a high quality, high volume 3-point shooter like Ellington. Trading for Ellington, who’s averaging 43.5% on 6.2 threes per game, would help fix the problem. Right now, the Lakers have a negative 3-point differential of 2.7 points, making a 27th ranked 10.8 out of 30.8 attempted threes for 35.1% while allowing a 5th ranked 11.7 out of 32.6 attempted threes for 35.8%

The 10–25 Pistons meanwhile have the 29th worst record in the league and are in full rebuilding mode. Acquiring a second round pick by swapping Ellington for Matthews helps collect assets and improves their draft status.

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3. Talen Horton-Tucker for Devonte Graham

This is a straight 1-for-1 player trade of backup lead guards. Both players are in the last year of their contracts and are expected to decline their qualifying offers and become highly coveted restricted free agents this summer.

The Lakers make the deal because they’re in a win-now mode and need the volume 3-point shooting and playmaking skills at which Graham excels. Devonte is shooting 35.5% on 6.8 threes and averaging 5.7 assists per game. While the 20-year old Horton-Tucker arguably has a greater upside, the 23-year old Graham’s 3-point shooting and playmaking are right now a better fit than THT to be the Lakers’ backup point guard for Dennis Schroder.

The 17–18 Hornets have put together an exciting young roster and the addition of LaMelo Ball and emergence of Terry Rozier have made Graham expendable. Trading for THT would give Charlotte another future star.

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The addition of Nerlens Noel, Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington, and Devonte Graham would give the Lakers the elite rim protector and high percentage, high volume 3-point shooting to repeat as NBA champs.

Defensively, Noel would give the Lakers the shot blocking rim protector they miss without McGee and Howard. His impact would definitely give the Lakers’ top ranked defense a big boost the rest of the season and playoffs. More importantly, the addition of Noel would enable the Lakers to stagger his minutes with Davis to keep an elite shot blocker on the floor the entire game and allow the Lakers to have two mobile bigs to close out games.

But the biggest impact of the trades would be how they transform the Lakers offensively from a poor 3-point shooting team with a differential of -2.7 points to an elite team with a top-two 3-point differential of 9.5 points. Bullock, Ellington, and Graham combined to aake 196 out of 509 threes for a respectful 38.5% the first half of the season while Harrell, Matthews, and Horton-Tucker made just 49 out of 161 threes for a disappointing 30.4%.

Replacing Harrell, Matthews, and Horton-Tucker with better high volume shooters like Bullock, Ellington, and Graham could enable the Lakers to make 147 more and attempt 348 more threes the second half of the season. Making 147 additional threes over the last 36 games could generate 441 points or 12.3 points per game, giving the Lakers a +9.6 differential, which would have been second best for the first half behind the Jazz’s +16.8 points.

The impact of how Noel could upgrade the Lakers’ defense while Bullock, Ellington, and Graham could transform the offense is a perfect blueprint for the type of moves Rob Pelinka needs to make at the trade deadline.

While a third superstar to go with LeBron James and Anthony Davis to match the Nets’ Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden would be great, the perfect move for the Lakers could be to trade for Myles Turner.

In fact, there’s a case to be made that trading for Turner would be a smarter and more realistic move for the Lakers than trading for a superstar and Myles just might be available as playing him next to Sabonis is not working. However, it’s still going to take an impressive offer from the Lakers to tempt the Pacers to trade Turner, who’s leading the league with career best 3.4 blocks and career best 1.1 steals in a career high 31.5 minutes per game.

That’s why the Lakers need to offer a package for Myles Turner the Pacers couldn’t refuse: 27-year old 6MOY Montrezl Harrell, 25-year old two-way star Kyle Kuzma, and 20-year old potential superstar Talen Horton-Tucker.

Let’s review why this is a win-win trade, why Myles Turner could be key to the win-now Lakers repeating as champs, and why Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma, and Talen Horton-Tucker could transform the Pacers into winners.

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WHY THE TRADE IS A WIN FOR LAKERS!

The Los Angeles Lakers have two serious needs that must be addressed to repeat as NBA champs: better rim protection and more 3-point shooting. Trading for Myles Turner dramatically improves the Lakers in both areas.

While he’s not a superstar per se, Turner has the skill set to arguably be a superstar in the role he’d play on the Lakers, which is a modern starting center who can protect the rim on defense and space the floor on offense. Myles leads the league in blocked shots and has the quickness and mobility to defend smaller players on the perimeter. He’s also a career 34.7% 3-point shooter who takes 4.6 threes per game and finishes ferociously at the rim.

Turner is the missing puzzle piece that elevates the Lakers’ top ranked championship defense to the next level. He and Anthony Davis would give the Lakers’ defense an unmatched pair of pterodactyl sized shot blockers. More importantly, the Lakers could stagger Turner’s and Davis’ minutes to keep an elite rim protector on the floor for the entire game. And Myles has the size, mobility, hops, and athleticism to defend Jokic and Embiid.

Turner gives the Lakers the low post dunks off lobs and rugged rebounding they’ve missed without McGee and Howard and a faster, quicker, and more mobile defender who can rotate and challenge shooters on the perimeter. Unlike last year’s old school low post centers, Myles can’t be played off the floor defensively and doesn’t allow opponents to pack the paint offensively to prevent LeBron James and Anthony Davis from getting to the rim.

Finally, landing the 6′ 11,” 250 lb Turner solves the problem of Anthony Davis preferring to play most of his minutes at power forward to avoid the physical banging and injury risks that inevitably come from playing center. Pairing the 24-year old Turner with the 27-year old Davis also solidifies the Lakers’ starting front court for the next decade and helps to extend their championship window well past the eventual end of LeBron James career.

While giving up Harrell, Kuzma, and Horton-Tucker is a huge price to pay, the 24-year old 6′ 11,” 250 lb Turner has the potential to transform the Los Angeles Lakers from a one time champion into the NBA’s next dynasty.

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WHY THE TRADE IS A WIN FOR THE PACERS!

Indiana’s experiment under new coach Nate Bjorkgren to play 6′ 11,” 240 lb Domantas Sabonis and 6′ 11,” 250 lb Myles Turner together is not working as the 15–18 Pacers have now lost 4 straight and fallen to 9th in the East.

While the Pacers won 4 of their first 5 games with Sabonis and Turner playing together, it’s become increasingly obvious two bigs front court has been a failure and they need to move Sabonis to center and trade Turner. The following chart using stats from NBA.com shows how the offensive, defensive, and net ratings of the Sabonis and Turner 2-player lineups and the Indiana Pacers as a team have declined each month this season.

Since Sabonis is the Pacers’ franchise player and Turner’s contract too expensive for a reserve, the Pacers would be smart to trade him now for multiple players who can provide them needed scoring and bench depth. With LeVert and Warren expected back sometime this season, the Pacers aren’t ready to tank. They just need to turn Turner into two or three players who fit better with their core of Sabonis, Brogdon, LeVert, and Warren.

The talented package of Harrell, Kuzma, and Horton-Tucker from the Lakers could be just what the Pacers need. Montrezl Harrell could be the instant offense small ball center they need when Domantas Sabonis rests. Kyle Kuzma could step right in and give their offense and defense a boost as starting power forward and 20-year old Talen Horton-Tucker is the wild card in the trade with his legitimate potential to become a future superstar.

A Pacers’ roster with Brogdon, LeVert, Warren, Kuzma, and Sabonis starting and Holiday, McDermott, McConnell, Harrell, and Lamb coming off the bench would clearly be a better, more diverse, and deeper playoff team.

Lakers’ LeBron James will sit out his first game of the season on Wednesday at the Sacramento Kings on the back-to-back, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The absence won’t impact his All-Star Game appearance Sunday in Atlanta.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 3, 2021

A short-handed Lakers team falls to the Pheonix Suns today 114-104. Join us as the lakerholics.com crew of LakerTom and Gerald are here to talk about the game and how the teams in LA are now looking up at more than one team in the Western Conference.

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Marc Gasol is out tonight because of health and safety protocols, the Lakers say.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 2, 2021