LA Lakers Rumors Roundup: Buddy Hield and Myles Turner available for 2 unprotected first-round picks; Lakers' potential starting lineup revealed, and more | October 1, 2022
The LA Lakers are looking to get back into contender status after their abysmal campaign last season. The Lakers have been linked with several players in the offseason, but only Patrick Beverley came in. The latest rumors suggest that the Indiana Pacers were open to trading Buddy Hield and Myles Turner to the Lakers.
Meanwhile, Lakers coach Darvin Ham is considering his potential starting lineup. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are sure starters, while Russell Westbrook will likely be the starting point guard. Austin Reaves, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn are options at shooting guard, while Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant could battle it out at center.
On that note, here's the latest LA Lakers rumors roundup for October 1 brought to you by Sportskeeda.
Pacers want two unprotected first-round picks from LA Lakers for Buddy Hield, Myles Turner
The LA Lakers have been linked with a couple of stars from the Indiana Pacers. Buddy Hield and Myles Turner might be on the move as long as the Pacers receive a nice haul. The Lakers will likely part ways with Russell Westbrook to acquire Hield and Turner.
However, they might also have to give away their remaining first-round picks of the decade. According to Zach Lowe of ESPN, the Pacers could trade Hield and Turner to the Lakers in a heartbeat. However, for that to happen, they need to part ways with the 2027 and 2029 first-round picks and make them unprotected.
"The one I've said I would sleep over if I were a Buss or Mr. (Rob) Pelinka is trading both picks to the Pacers for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner. My best intel right now is if the Lakers called Indiana right now and said, 'Both picks unprotected,' the Pacers would do that deal. Would probably do that deal."
REPORT: The Pacers would trade Buddy Hield and Myles Turner right now if the Lakers included 2 unprotected 1st round picks 😳
(via ESPN) https://t.co/lheWD6WhFG
Kendrick Nunn, Damian Jones could feature in LA Lakers starting lineup
LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham has the tough task of figuring out the ideal starting lineup for the season.
Ham needs to establish a winning team to avoid another catastrophic campaign for the Lakrs. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are the only shoe-ins heading into the preseason, with Russell Westbrook the likely point guard.
Ham has tentatively named Kendrick Nunn and Damian Jones as potential starters, per ESPN. The rookie coach is doing some experiments during training camp to find out the right lineup to win games.
"It's almost like he's a new player; he's a free agent for us," Ham said of Nunn. "So, I told him he's going to be a big part of what I'm trying to do, and he's embraced it and you can tell by his play thus far."
He continued:
"Damian is just a really young, athletic big. He runs like a deer. He can jump to the ceiling, really defensive-minded. Tries to protect the rim, sets good screens, rolls hard, creating a constant threat at the rim. Again, being a presence in the paint defensively."
The Lakers have been using this starting group in practice so far:
Russell Westbrook
Kendrick Nunn
LeBron James
Anthony Davis
Damian Jones
Thoughts? https://t.co/3zZdrMASVF
LA Lakers, other NBA teams turned off by Bojan Bogdanovic extension demand
The LA Lakers were one of the interested teams to acquire Bojan Bogdanovic from the Utah Jazz in the offseason. However, Bogdanovic was eventually traded to the Detroit Pistons. The Jazz received Kelly Olynyk, Saben Lee and cash considerations.
One of the reasons why the Lakers backed off a potential deal with the Jazz was because of Bogdanovic's demands. The Croatian star wants a long-term extension, and that persuaded teams such as the Lakers to trade for him, per NBA insider Marc Stein.
Jae Crowder/Suns, Bojan Bogdanovic/Pistons, Celtics, Lakers and more ... all via the latest This Week In Basketball column: marcstein.substack.com/p/actual-nba-b…
Stein also reported in his latest Substack piece that Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is not done making deals. Pelinka is expected to pursue a midseason trade as long as the team is competitive.