After LeBron James officially announced that he would be returning for his 21st season to the Los Angeles Lakers, NBA Finals aspirations were back on in La La Land. This comes after the Lakers did a great job in NBA free agency bringing in guys like Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes, Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince, while retaining Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and D'Angelo Russell. With James back in the fold, the Lakers are again going to be contending for a championship out of the Western Conference. Regardless, there are still weaknesses on this Lakers team, and there is one trade that has been rumored for years that Los Angeles would be smart in trying to target. As the 2023 NBA offseason progresses, the Lakers need to target a trade that brings them either Buddy Hield or Myles Turner from the Indiana Pacers.

The youth movement currently happening in Indiana is in full force, and both Hield and Turner might be better off somewhere else. The Pacers gave Tyrese Haliburton a five-year, $260 million extension earlier in the offseason, and they drafted Jarace Walker while bringing in Oscar Tshiebwe on a two-way contract. Alongside newly signed Bruce Brown is Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard, Jordan Nwora, Obi Toppin, and Kendall Brown, giving the Pacers a pretty dynamic young core. This leaves Turner and Hield as veterans on the roster on lucrative contracts, and they might not fit very seamlessly into the young locker room the Pacers are growing. While the Lakers couldn't afford taking on both of their contracts, both players would work well on a Lakers team that needs to win now. In terms of the Pacers, success is imminent, but they might have a year or two before becoming true contenders. Trading Buddy Hield or Myles Turner to the Lakers could net them draft picks or young guys like Max Christie or Jalen Hood-Schifino that could grow alongside the youth in Indiana. If the Lakers are doing their due diligence, then one trade they need to target throughout the rest of the 2023 NBA offseason is a deal for either Buddy Hield or Myles Turner.

*Rosters via ESPN

Trade for Buddy Hield or Myles Turner

Both Buddy Hield and Myles Turner would fill needs on the Lakers that could immediately make them the favorites to win the NBA Finals. Of course, in an ideal world the Lakers would be able to trade for both, but they don't have the cap space to afford doing so with the already pricey contracts that Hield and Turner are signed onto; not to mention, the Lakers spent a boatload of money this offseason already. However, either Turner or Hield could make sense as a deal alone, especially because the Lakers could unload some cap, draft picks and roster spots in return. Whether it be Hield or Turner, the Lakers need to try and target one or the other.

Buddy Hield would make a lot of sense because of the three-point shooting struggles the Lakers went through all of last season. Hield is one of the better shooters in the entire NBA, and at 30-years-old, he can still clip it with the best of them. Guys like Gabe Vincent and Austin Reaves should be pretty solid shooters for the Lakers this year, but they do not have a specialist from long range on the roster that they can go to. If they traded for Hield that role would be filled, and the entire dynamic would change for the Lakers when he would be on the court. Over the course of LeBron James' career, he has excelled when having dynamic shooters to go to. Whether it be Kyrie Irving with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Ray Allen with the Miami Heat, or Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on the Lakers, James won rings alongside elite three-point shooters. Another ring could be in the Lakers future if they landed Buddy Hield.

On the other hand, Myles Turner makes a lot of sense as a guy who could both play alongside Anthony Davis and give Davis the much needed rest that he will need as he continues to get older. Turner and Davis as a duo would be so scary on defense that opposing teams would most likely change their style of play against the Lakers. Offensively, both Turner and Davis have extensive bags that would probably make them the best big man duo in the NBA. In general, a starting lineup of Myles Turner, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Austin Reaves and say Rui Hachimura is probably the best lineup in the NBA. Bring guys like Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Reddish and Hayes off the bench, and this Lakers team would be frightening. A trade for Myles Turner is definitely something the Lakers should target as the 2023 NBA offseason continues to roll on.