The common Los Angeles Lakers trade narrative is that the team desperately wants to trade Russell Westbrook and his $47 million contract. However, with the difficulties of trading a contract of that magnitude (even an expiring one) and Westbrook’s mini-resurgence of late, the franchise may have put that deal on the back burner for now. The Lakers rumor now are that the team is looking into a Patrick Beverley-Kendrick Nunn trade, where they would package one of their two available first-round picks with the $18.25 million in expiring contracts Beverley and Nunn provide.
A Patrick Beverley-Kendrick Nunn trade would allow the Lakers to bring back a player or two in the $20 million range and preserve a first-round pick for the future or for another deal down the line, possibly involving Westbrook.
With Westbrook playing better and guards like Austin Reaves and Dennis Schröder taking up an increasing amount of minutes, Beverley and Nunn are now expendable. Neither player has performed well this year, so sending them to a contender seems unlikely. The most realistic scenario is a Lakers trade with a bottom-of-the-standings team who would want the two expiring contracts and the draft pick.
In return, the LA will be looking for a big man who can play next to Anthony Davis, 3-point shooting to improve on the team’s near-league-worst 32.4% shooting from deep, and/or more size on the wing. Here are the three best deals the Lakers can make to turn Beverley and Nunn into a player or two who fits these needs.
To the Indiana Pacers for Myles Turner
The ideal Patrick Beverley-Kendrick Nunn trade for the Lakers would be trading the pair and the pick to the Pacers for center Myles Turner.
Turner is just 26 and is having a career year, averaging 17.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and shooting 37.7% from 3-point range. He is a rim protector who can take the defensive pressure off of Anthony Davis and is one of the best pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop bigs in the league.
The problems here are that the Pacers are playing exceptionally well with Turner in the lineup. Indiana is 12-9 currently and in the No. 4 slot in the East. Also, if the Pacers aren’t overreacting to the fast start and are staying the rebuilding course around Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, and Jalen Smith, a 2027 draft pick might be too far out for their timeline.
If the Lakers can pull this deal off, though, it would be a huge coup for the franchise.
To San Antonio Spurs for Jakob Poeltl and Doug McDermott
In this Lakers trade, LA would also have to throw in 2022 second-round pick Max Christie and his $1 million contract to make the deal for Spurs’ center Jakob Poeltl and forward Doug McDermott work. Christie is currently playing 11.2 minutes per game and averaging 2.8 points.
Adding a rookie is a fine price to pay for the ability to add these two veterans to the Lakers' roster. Poeltl is a do-it-all center who just turned 27 and is a free agent after this season. He provides scoring (12.9 points), rebounding (9.9 boards), and solid defense next to Davis, and while he doesn’t shoot 3’s, he is making 64% of his shots from the field this season.
As for McDermott, he is a floor-spacer who is shooting right around his lofty career average of 40.9% from behind the arc this season. And while he’s not much of a rebounder or defender, he is a 6-foot-7 wing, which will give the Lakers a little more of the size they covet.
This Lakers trade with the Spurs gives the Lakers shooting, size, and defense (as well as a possible long-term piece if they re-sign Poeltl), and sends the Spurs some solid re-building blocks. It’s a win-win.
To the Houston Rockets for Eric Gordon
The Houston Rockets fit the profile of the Lakers' most likely trade partner, as they are a team that is in full rebuild mode and could use the expiring contracts and the future pick.
Eric Gordon will turn 34 on Christmas day and isn’t having his best year, but as a career 37% 3-point shooter who would be a spot-up shooter on the Lakers, he would bring value as a floor-spacer around Davis and LeBron James.
A Patrick Beverley-Kendrick Nunn trade is all about incremental growth on the Lakers’ current run of better from, and that’s exactly what Gordon represents. He is not the all-around problem solver like Myles Turner or the multi-dimensional fix like Jakob Poeltl and Doug McDermott, but he is a player who could help the Lakers continue to improve and dig themselves out of their current hole near the bottom of the Western Conference without completely blowing up the team and giving away all the assets.
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