Lakers: Pacers would never say yes to this Russell Westbrook trade idea

After the most disappointing season in franchsie history, fans are eager to see what the Los Angeles Lakers are going to do this offseason and how the team tries to get rid of Russell Westbrook.

It is clear that the best-case scenario for the Lakers internally is to trade Westbrook this offseason but that is easier said than done. However, crazier things have happened in the NBA and to call a Westbrook trade impossible this summer is silly. It might be more likely that he will be traded at the deadline next season, but it is still possible he is dealt this summer.

One trade that is seemingly impossible is the proposed trade with the Indiana Pacers that has been bouncing around the Lakers world. Earlier this offseason, Shams Charania of The Athletic named the Pacers as a potential team that could trade for Westbrook and Lakers pundits have run with that report.

The trade is built around the idea of the Lakers trading Russell Westbrook and Talen Horton-Tucker/Kendrick Nunn (likely with some draft capital as well) to Indiana for the pair of Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield. In theory, Indiana would do this to shed Brogdon and Hield’s multi-year contract in favor of an expiring Westbrook contract to create financial flexibility and open up the roster for Tyrese Haliburton.

There is just one problem.

The Indiana Pacers would never say yes to this Russell Westbrook trade proposal by the Los Angeles Lakers.

If the Pacers were to say yes to this trade then general manager Chad Buchanan should instantly be fired. If we are talking about how bad the Westbrook trade was for the Lakers just imagine how bad this trade would be for the Pacers.

First of all, I am not buying into the idea that the Pacers would want to flip these multi-year contracts for an expiring in Westbrook. Indiana just signed Brogdon to an extension and considering the level of player he is, his contract is not even hindering the team. Brogdon is under contract for three more seasons and is making an average of $25.53 million per season.

Sure, he is not an all-star, but that is an extremely cheap price for someone who is well above league average. Why would the Pacers want to trade for someone like THT, who makes half of what Brogdon does and is not nearly the same player?

Hield’s contract is not bad, either. He is under contract for two more years with an average salary of $19.5 million. In today’s NBA, that is extremely cheap. It would be one thing if these guys were making $30+ million, but they are not.

Plus, even if the Pacers wanted to trade these two they can get actual assets in return. Because their salaries are not that high in today’s league, there are plenty of contending teams that would line up willing to trade draft capital and a young player or two. That is significantly better for the Pacers than trading for Westbrook only to buy him out and light $47.1 million on fire this season.

Think about the last two times Russell Westbrook was traded. First, he was flipped for the other horrible contract in the NBA, John Wall, who does not even play anymore. Then, the Lakers got desperate and traded three average role players (who LA definitely misses) to get him. Why suddenly are we pretending like Westbrook has value and the Lakers would get a solid scoring guard and a well-above-average point guard for him?

It is not happening, folks. Give it a rest.