The Los Angeles Lakers may be getting a little bit of help ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline. The team has been active on the trade market but there’s no guarantee that a deal is going to happen. One name that has been linked to the team previously is Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner.
The Lakers would love to add the athletic center but the Pacers don’t appear very interested in what the team has to offer. However, perhaps Turner can push them to make a deal happen. Social media influencer and model Dipika Dutt is doing her part to help the Lakers land the center. She’s started recruiting Turner on TikTok by telling him to come to Los Angeles. He replied asking her to go to dinner with him, via Silver Screen & Roll.
TikTokScreenshot from TikTok.
She then responded by saying she would go to dinner with him if he came to the Lakers.
Instead of committing to the Lakers, Turner asked if 10,000 likes on his video would get him a date and said, “I ain’t never been afraid to shoot my shot.”
Dutt later said that 20,000 likes would get him a date so looks like Turner doesn’t need the Lakers after all.
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Could Lakers Still Trade for Turner?
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported earlier in the season that the Lakers were showing interest in Turner. The Pacers have already been quite active on the trade market and remain big sellers as they try to enter a rebuild. They’ve already traded away Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday and Caris LeVert. Turner could be the next player on his way out.
The Lakers don’t have a lot of great assets that would interest Indiana but they do have a 2027 first-round pick that’s arguably their best asset. A package surrounding Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and the first-round pick could be enough to get Turner. The Lakers are apprehensive to let go of that first-round pick but it’s pretty much the only way they’ll be able to land an impact player.
Anthony Davis Playing Center More Often
The Lakers like to play big and adding a 6-foot-11 center like Turner would help. He’s vastly more athletic than DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard are right now. However, center might not be the Lakers’ biggest need. Since returning from injury, Anthony Davis has been playing a lot of minutes at center.
It appears that he’s finally starting to embrace the position. Los Angeles has always played its best with him playing center. Trading for Turner would push Davis to power forward more often. That might not be what’s best for the team. The Lakers really need a player or two who can defend the wing. Turner wouldn’t really help in that regard. He’d be a good pickup but Los Angeles might be better off holding onto that first-round pick.
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Lakers Trade Target Responds to Recruitment Efforts From TikTok Model