Lakers finally land Buddy Hield in peculiar proposed trade idea

The Los Angeles Lakers have had an excellent offseason that saw the team have one of the best showings in NBA free agency. Los Angeles is gearing up for another run at the title with a core that is even better than the year before.

One thing the Lakers also did that the team has not done in the past is give itself future flexibility. With the deals that the Lakers signed, the team can make a move at the deadline to improve the roster and make a harder push at the title. Heck, the team has all but confirmed that D’Angelo Russell will likely be traded at some point.

With all of this in mind, outlets have already started constructing potential trades for the purple and gold to make. And it wouldn’t be a proposed Lakers trade if Buddy Hield was not involved, because, of course, NBA pundits are going to find a way to get Hield in a Laker jersey.

Bleacher Report recently put together one trade for every NBA team to make and concocted quite the three-team trade for the Lakers that would bring Hield to Los Angeles. This made the rounds on social media and fans started to tee off on this potential trade idea.

Proposed Lakers trade for Buddy Hield makes absolutely no sense

We get that Buddy Hield has been tied to the Lakers in the past and to be fair, the assets that the Lakers are sending in this trade actually are movable. But there is no chance that Los Angeles would make a trade like this.

There is definitely a case to be made about trading both Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt. Russell struggled immensely in the playoffs while Vanderbilt is not much of an offensive presence and became unplayable at points in the postseason.

But why would they trade two rotation guys for someone who will be equally as unplayable in the playoffs because of his bad defense? Daniel Theiss does fill a need for the Lakers, admittedly, but the team would be going laterally at the absolute best with this trade. It is better to just maintain the continuity and find a better trade elsewhere if possible.

This isn’t even a good deal for the Jazz, either. Utah bought low on John Collins and would then be flipping him for D’Lo. What would that accomplish? They would be going from one distressed asset to the other and would be getting a low-level pick for it. Sure they save some money but they might be able to resurrect Collins and actually make him valuable.

The Pacers make out like bandits in this trade by making two upgrades to the rotation while also getting a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft with Jalen Hood-Schifino. A Pacers fan should love this deal. Lakers fans? Not so much.