The 2022 NBA trade deadline is just a few days away, and the Los Angeles Lakers desperately need to shuffle the roster.
The vision the front office had over the summer has not yet come to fruition, and time is really ticking for the Lakers (26-28) to make a postseason push as the regular season dwindles.
Names for the Lakers that could be traded include Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, Kent Bazemore and DeAndre Jordan, which makes sense because the main untouchables are LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Malik Monk if this squad wants to go deep in the playoffs.
But the Lakers don’t need to make a splashy, big trade to improve. They can make a smaller one that helps at the margins, which sometimes is all a team needs.
That brings to mind the Indiana Pacers. Indiana is currently 13th in the Eastern Conference and is already blowing up the roster after a failed season. Caris LeVert and a 2022 second-round pick went to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ricky Rubio (out for the season with an ACL tear), a 2022 first-rounder, a 2022 second-rounder and a 2027 second-rounder.
Myles Turner is a 3-and-D center that could definitely benefit the Lakers, but acquiring him would likely remove L.A.’s chances of getting a good wing because the best trade assets would be gone.
But a name on the roster that is intriguing is Torrey Craig. The 31-year-old 3-and-D wing is making $4.8 million for this year and next year and isn’t a future piece as the Pacers rebuild.
In 19.8 minutes per game, Craig is averaging 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 46.4% overall (5.4 attempts) and 34.4% from deep (2.7 attempts. He shot 36.8% from deep last season.
The Lakers wouldn’t need to ship a first-round pick as they would for Kenrich Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Los Angeles could send one of its two 2023 second-rounders and/or attach one or two minimum players (like Jordan or Bazemore) since they’re on expiring contracts.
If the Pacers are going to have a fire sale, getting Craig for cheap would help the lack of players who excel on both ends on L.A.’s roster.
