Why the Los Angeles Lakers could say yes to this trade:
When it all boils down to it, the Lakers are essentially trading Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, an unprotected first and a first-round pick swap to get back Kyrie Irving and Myles Turner. Considering Westbrook seemed immovable just six weeks ago, that is not a bad price at all.
You could even make the case that the Lakers could also dish out Kendrick Nunn in this package to get Seth Curry in return. That is something the Lakers should bargain for from Brooklyn in this trade but they should say yes to it even without Curry.
The Lakers are reportedly uninterested in trading two first-round picks to the Nets for Kyrie Irving but that would likely change if the team was also getting Turner in the deal as well. After all, initial reports from this offseason said the Lakers didn’t want to trade any picks to get off Westbrook and that obviously changed with Irving.
Money-wise this makes sense for the Lakers. The team gets off Westbrook and is actually saving $2.3 million against the luxury tax for this upcoming season. That essentially pays for the team to sign one more minimum player to fill out the 15th roster spot.
Turner might not be a perfect fit in LA but he does add something the team needs: shooting. Having a big that can space the floor and play with or without AD on the court could be beneficial to the Lakers.
If the Lakers are not interested in acquiring the two years left on Joe Harris’ contract then they probably won’t want to trade for the two years on Buddy Hield’s contract. Thus, Turner makes the most sense for LA here.