Given the Los Angeles Lakers’ current personnel, Frank Vogel decided to make a huge shift in philosophy in recent weeks, making LeBron James his starting center and fully embracing small-ball.
This will change when Anthony Davis returns, but one thing that is clear is that DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard won’t play big roles on this team as was the case with past centers when Vogel preferred to play two big men at once.
The switch to small-ball has seen positive results, although it is clear that the Lakers have lacked rim protection and rebounding.
One player who could fix that while still giving the Lakers the spacing they have enjoyed while playing small-ball is Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner, who is reportedly on the trade block ahead of the Feb. 10 deadline.
With that, it comes as no surprise that the Lakers are among the teams expressing interest in Turner, via Shams Charania of The Athletic:
Rival teams are ramping up conversations with the Pacers involving guard Caris LeVert and center Myles Turner. The Mavericks and Knicks are expressing interest in trading for Turner, sources said. The Lakers and Hornets have had a level of interest in Turner as well, sources added.
Turner knows how to play off another big man in Domantas Sabonis, which would help if he ended up joining the Lakers with Davis and James.
In 39 games this season, Turner is averaging 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 51.8% from the field and 35.7% from 3-point range. He also leads the league in blocks at 2.9 per game.
The cost of acquiring Turner would not be cheap though as the Lakers likely would have to include both Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn plus draft capital.
Lakers also showing interest in Grant
The Lakers are also among the teams that have expressed interest in Detroit Pistons wing Jerami Grant, who likely will have more suitors than Turner.
Acquiring Grant would better allow the Lakers to stick with their new small-ball philosophy, so it’s likely that the Lakers pursue him more than Turner ahead of the deadline.
Regardless though, one thing that is clear is that the Lakers are searching all avenues to upgrade their roster in hopes of getting back into championship contention.
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