Getty Pacers' Buddy Hield and Blazers' Damian Lillard
The Los Angeles Lakers have been urged to trade for a $94 million star in the offseason.
In a May 4 story called “Lakers’ Most Realistic Trade Targets in 2023 Offseason,” Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report wrote that the Lakers “should strongly consider making another run” at Indiana Pacers shooting guard Buddy Hield.
“The Lakers made a desperate attempt at the trade deadline to find the shooting they lacked to improve their offensive spacing. The roster changes helped, but they didn’t go far enough,” Buckley wrote. “From the Feb. 9 deadline to the end of the regular season, L.A. ranked just 20th in threes (11.3 per game) and 15th in three-point percentage (36.2). Through seven playoff games, the Lakers are down to just 10.1 threes on 30.2 percent shooting—both would have been the worst such marks this season. That’s why the Lakers should strongly consider making another run at Buddy Hield. As far as three-point shooters go, he ranks among the very best of the best. He is a career 40.2 percent shooter from range and just finished his fifth consecutive season with more than three triples per game.
“With his 31st birthday looming in December, he’s also perhaps too old for the rebuilding Indiana Pacers to keep. And since he’s primarily a shooting specialist, he shouldn’t cost a fortune in a trade.”
The Lakers and Pacers discussed a Russell Westbrook-Hield-Myles Turner trade several times. According to an October 3 report from Jovan Buha, Sam Amick and Shams Charania of The Athletic, Los Angeles nearly sent Westbrook and unprotected first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 to Indiana for Turner and Hield in October before 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.
The Lakers wound up trading Westbrook to the Utah Jazz at the February trade deadline in a three-team deal involving the Minnesota Timberwolves. Los Angeles acquired Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt from Utah and D’Angelo Russell from Minnesota. All three players helped the purple and gold make the playoffs.
The Lakers, who started the season 2-10, beat the Timberwolves in the 7-8 play-in game to clinch the seventh seed. They then eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the postseason in six games.
Proposed Trade Lands Lakers Buddy Hield & Myles Turner
Buckley really wants to see Hield and Turner on the Lakers. In a March 30 piece titled “Hypothetical Lakers Trades to Boost Pursuit of 2024 NBA Title,” the Bleacher Report writer proposed that the Lakers trade Beasley, Vanderbilt, Max Christie, Mo Bamba and a 2029 first-round pick to the Pacers for Hield and Turner this summer.
“The Lakers were eyeballing Myles Turner and Buddy Hield last offseason, but they didn’t want to part with both of the future first-round picks they were allowed to trade,” Buckley wrote. “But what if one pick and some interesting young players would get it done? L.A. would have to pounce on that, right? Turner and Hield could effortlessly slot in a starting five with James, Davis and a re-signed Russell. That quintet has sufficient shooting and probably enough interior defense to plug most leaks from the perimeter. If the Lakers build a functional bench behind it, that’s a group that could count contention among its (very) best-case scenarios.
“The Pacers have to be prioritizing the future to accept this offer, but rebuilding around Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin should lead to something more interesting than their present. They’d have to view at least two of Jarred Vanderbilt, Max Christie and Mo Bamba as long-term keepers. The first-round pick would be the biggest draw. They could keep Beasley for his spacing or shop him for more assets.”
Buddy Hield Is One of the Best Shooters in NBA History
Hield, 30, is one of the best shooters of all time. He was second in the league this season in 3-point field goals (288) and shot 42.5% from beyond the arc. The Oklahoma product is a career 40.2% shooter from deep, which is good for 39th in NBA history.
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 signed a four-year, $94 million contract with the Kings in October 2019. The sharpshooter will make $18.6 million next season, the final year of his deal.