The Los Angeles Lakers have been trying desperately to fill the void that was recently created at the center position in the aftermath of their shocking Luka Dončić acquisition in exchange for a package headlined by Anthony Davis on Feb, 1.
In fact, the team recently signed veteran center Alex Len to partially fill that hole Tuesday evening, but the 31-year-old will likely not end up being a long-term fix.
To make a real effort at supplying both Dončić and LeBron James with a star center talent with two-way abilities, the Lakers’ general manager Rob Pelinka may make a serious push to land an accomplished big man from the Indiana Pacers in the summer of 2025.
“They don’t think that (Jaxson) Hayes is going to be that guy,” Sports Illustrated’s Ryan Stano wrote Tuesday.
“Los Angeles could go after a center in the offseason to fix that problem. One center who the Lakers have been interested in for years could be a target of theirs.”
“That player is Indiana Pacers player Myles Turner. Turner is going to be a free agent for the first time in his career this summer.”
“The only way in which the Lakers could acquire him would be through a sign-and-trade with the Pacers. That’s going to be a really tough sell.”
At 28 years old and set to be an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, Turner has remained a dream option for the Lakers at the center position due to his incredible skillset.
To acquire Indiana’s former lottery pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Los Angeles would likely need to throw the contracts of Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber into a possible sign-and-trade transaction.
The 6-foot-11, 250 pound frontcourt star has become one of the league’s premier floor-spacing and shot-blocking bigs, boasting averages of 15.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks while connecting on a career-best 39.8% of his 5.1 three-point attempts this season.
Although he sports one of the best distance shooting percentages amongst centers in all of the NBA, Turner is certainly not just a shooter on the offensive end. Due to his great agility and athleticism, he’s been known to throw down some monster dunks in years past.
As a pick-and-roll partner with James and Dončić, Turner’s offense could plausibly explode as a potential member of the Lakers, where he would likely be an excellent lob threat and catch-and-shoot option at the three-point line after receiving great passes from the two generational play-makers.
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