The roster churn is alive and well in Los Angeles. The first domino has fallen after the Los Angeles Lakers shipped out Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson to the Utah Jazz for Patrick Beverley. Both the Lakers and Jazz acquired players who fit their timelines better, the former focused on returning to contention and the latter rebuilding. However, the Lakers could have gotten even more valuable pieces from the Indiana Pacers had they been willing to part with their limited draft capital.

According to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto, the Pacers were looking to acquire Horton-Tucker, in addition to absorbing Russell Westbrook's expiring deal, and the Lakers' 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in exchange for stretch big/shot-blocking hybrid big man Myles Turner, sharpshooter Buddy Hield, and Daniel Theis.

“One note that’s interesting is before the Lakers traded Talen Horton-Tucker to Utah in the Patrick Beverley trade, the Pacers were trying to get Horton-Tucker, I’m told,” Scotto said in a HoopsHype podcast with Jovan Buha. “Essentially, Indiana was hoping to get Westbrook’s expiring contract, the Lakers’ two first-round picks in 2027 and 2029, along with Horton-Tucker for Turner, Hield and they wanted to make LA take […] Theis, who has some years looking ahead on his contract.”

In the end, the Lakers' hesitation to part with two unprotected first-round picks just to get out of Westbrook's expiring contract nixed the potential deal. Additional concerns on the Lakers' end were that they felt like they were essentially swapping Horton-Tucker and Theis' contracts in the potential deal.

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Still, the Lakers have barely any leverage on a potential Westbrook trade, as Scotto added that any team in the league that's willing to take on Westbrook's contract wants both of the Lakers' first-rounders. After a poor season for Westbrook in purple and gold, it's not difficult to see why.

Nonetheless, the addition of Turner next to defensive extraordinaire Anthony Davis would have made scoring on the Lakers' interior an impossible task, while Hield would have gifted LeBron James an outlet from deep who can capitalize on LeBron's gravity. It's fun to think about the what-ifs, but the Lakers still have a lot of work left to do with their roster before the season begins before they can truly be considered championship contenders.